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JOUTEL'S JOURNAL OF 
LA SALLE'S LAST VOYAGE. 



Edition limited to five hundred copies printed from type 
of which this is No 




GUDEBROD'S STATUE OF LA SALLE 
AT THE LOUISANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION, ST. LOUIS, 1904. 



Joutel's Journal of 

La Salle's Last Voyage 

1684-7 



WITH A FRONTISPIECE OF GUDEBROD'S 
STATUE OF LA SALLE AND THE MAP OF 
THE ORIGINAL FRENCH EDITION, PARIS 
1713, IN FACSIMILE 



NEW EDITION WITH HISTORICAL AND 
BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION, ANNOTA- 
TIONS AND INDEX BY HENRY REED STILES, 
A.M., M.D . . . 

TO WHICH IS ADDED A BIBLIOGRAPHY 
OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI 
BY APPLETON P. C. GRIFFIN, OF THE LI- 
BRARY OF CONGRESS 



ALBANY, N. Y. 

JOSEPH Mcdonough 
1906 



UBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two CoDies Received 

APR 80 1906 




OOPY B 



Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1906 

By JOSEPH Mcdonough, 

In the office of the Librarian of Congress, Washington. 



<0 






\fi 



TO THE MEMORY OF 

JOHN GILMARY SHEA, LL. D., 

THE INDEFATIGABLE HISTORIAN 

OF THE 

MISSIONS, LITERATURE AND HISTORY 

OF THE 

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN NORTH AMERICA, 

AND A 

MAN OF MODEST, PIOUS AND BLAMELESS LIFE 

THIS, 

THE FINAL VOLUME OF A SERIES PROJECTED 
BY HIMSELF, OVER FORTY YEARS AGO, 

IS 

SINCERELY DEDICATED 

BY 

THE PUBLISHER AND EDITOR. 



PUBLISHER'S NOTE. 



This volume is the concluding one of a series projected by the 
late John Gilmary Shea, LL. D., on the " Discovery and Explora- 
tions of the Mississippi Valley." The initial volume, issued in 1852, 
comprises the Narratives of Marquette, Allouez, Membre, Henne- 
pin and Anastase Douay. The second, issued in 1861, contains those 
of Cavelier, St. Cosme, Le Seur, Gravier and Guignas. 

The present volume, giving Joutel's Journal of La Salle's third and 
last voyage, is reprinted from the first English translation of 1714, of 
the original French edition of 17 13. 

A facsimile reprint of the above English edition was issued 
(privately) by the Caxton Club of Chicago, in 1896, in an edition 
of 203 copies, and enriched by textual notes by Prof. Melville B. 
Anderson, now of Menlo Park, California, — the result of his care- 
ful collation of the English with the French original. These notes, 
by the special permission of Mr. Anderson, have been incorporated 
in the present volume and indicated by his initials. 

With a view, also, to render this edition as compendious a source 
of reference as possible for the student of this subject, we have 
added, by the courtesy of the author, the exceedingly full and valua- 
ble " Bibliography of the Discovery and Explorations in the Missis- 
sippi Valley," by Mr. Appleton P. C. Griffin, formerly of the 
Boston Public Library, now Chief Bibliographer of the Library of 
Congress, Washington, D. C. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Dedication v 

Publisher's Note vi 

Historical Introduction ---i 

Biographical Notice of Joutel 27 

Original Title Page in facsimile -.-... 31 

The French Bookseller to the reader ----- 33 

The Preface written by Sieur de Mitchell - - - - 47 

Joutel's Journal with notes and annotations . - - 53 
Remainder of Letter by he who revis'd this Journal, being 

sequel to same 203 

Letters Patent granted by the King of France to M. Crozat 212 
Bibliography of *' The Discovery of the Mississippi," by Apple- 
ton P. C. Griffin 221 

Index 241 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Heliotype reproduction of Gudebrod's Statue of La Salle pro- 
duced for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at Saint 
Louis, 19^04 ------- Frontispiece 

Reproduction in facsimile of Joutel's Map originally published 

in the Paris edition of 17 13 - - - End of volume 



Historical Introduction. 



La Salle's Two Previous Voyages. 

The earliest French explorers of the seventeenth century, 
among the great lakes and rivers of the North American 
continent, — Champlain, Nicolet, Marquette, Hennepin, 
Joliet and La Salle — were men of no common mould. 
Whether clerics, imbued with the enthusiasm of their holy 
faith, or laymen, dominated by the love of adventure and 
the prospect of adding to the wealth and glory of their 
beloved France, their ideals were sublime, their labors 
prodigious, their sufferings heroic, their perseverance 
indomitable. They possessed " the courage of their con- 
victions ;" and despite the difficulties, dangers, and reverses 
which befell them, their successive explorations all con- 
tributed to the result finally achieved by La Salle, — 
the discovery of the " Father of Waters " — the Mississippi. 

" Second only to Champlain, among the heroes of 
Canadian history," says John Fiske,^ " stands Robert 
Cavelier de la Salle — a man of iron, if ever there was 
one — a man austere and cold in manner, and endowed 
with such indomitable pluck and perseverance as have 
never been surpassed in the world. He did more than any 
other man to extend the dominion of France in the New 
World. As Champlain had founded the colony of Canada, 
and opened the way to the great lakes, so La Salle com- 
pleted the discovery of the Mississippi, and added to the 
French possessions the vast province of Louisiana." 

Rene Robert Cavelier, better known as La Salle, from 
the name of the family's estate, was born, in 1643, at 

1 " The Romance of the French and Spanish Explorers ;" an article 
in Harper's Magazine, for February, 1882, by John Fiske. 

[I] 



2 Historical Introduction. 

Rouen, Normandy, France, The Caveliers, though not 
ennobled, were citizens of marked social and some official 
distinction in that ancient and wealthy city. His father, 
Jean, and his uncle Henri, were rich merchants, and the 
latter, at least, was one of the " Hundred Associates " of 
Cardinal Richelieu, a syndicate largel)'- interested in trade 
with the territorial possessions of France, in America.^ 
Being an earnest Catholic, Robert, at an early age, became 
connected with the Jesuits, and in their schools acquired 
an excellent education, especially in the higher mathe- 
matics and the exact sciences. His nature, however, was 
one which chafed under the restrictions of a monastic 
order; and he subsequently withdrew from them, though 
on good terms, and with a reputation as a bright scholar, 
and of unimpeachable morals. Free to seek a wider field 
for his activities than that offered by an ecclesiastical 
career, his attention was drawn to Canada, where an elder 
brother, John Cavelier, a priest of the Sulpitian order, was 
then residing. But, as his connection with and withdrawal 
from the Jesuit order had — under a recent French law — 
deprived him of any claim upon the estate of his recently 
deceased father, he lacked the means needed for the voyage 
thither. Finally, he obtained an allowance (probably 
from his family) of 300 or 400 livres, with which slender 
sum he sailed to seek his fortune, in the spring of 1666. 

Shortly after his arrival at Montreal, he received from 
the Superior of the Sulpitian Seminary, which had recently 
become the feudal lord of that city, a large grant of land 
(a "seigniory") in that vicinity.^ This he immediately 
proceeded to improve, by the introduction of new settlers 
as tenants, the erection of buildings, and the cultivation of 
the soil. It is probable, however, that even before coming 

1 " The Great La Salle," an article in Harper's Magazine, for Feb- 
ruary, 1905, by Henry Loomis Nelson, L. H. D. Also Parkman's 
Pioneers of New France, Champlain edition, ii, 258, 260. 

2 This feudal estate, some eight miles from Montreal, bears at the 
present day the name of La Chine (China), modernly spelled Lachine, 
which was said to have been applied to it in derision of his first 
fruitless voyage. 



Historical Introduction. 3 

to Canada he had outHned to himself a much wider sphere 
of activity. For, with the prevision which was a feature 
of his character, he spent much of his time during the first 
two years of his Hfe at La Chine, in mastering" the Indian 
languages, especially those of the Iroquois and Algonquin 
dialects. And in this, he evidently struck upon the initial 
point of his future career. For, from a party of Senecas 
Vv'ho visited with him several weeks at his seigniory, he 
learned of a great river (which they called the Ohio) 
" flowing into the sea," and only to be reached by a journey 
of eight or nine months. This, he conceived, might be the 
river of which he had already heard as emptying into the 
" Vermilion Sea," or Gulf of California, and, thinking that 
perchance it might possibly prove to be a northwest route 
to China, he projected a voyage of discovery thither.^ 
With this in view he planned a visit to the Senecas, to learn 
all that the)?- might know in relation to the matter. Com- 
municating his plans to the Governor (Courcelle) and 
the Intendant (Talon) of Canada, he received from them 
the necessary authorization to make the attempt. But 
first, as it must be made at his own expense, and as he had 
already spent all his means upon the improvement of his 
seigniory, he was obliged to sell his lands, etc., mainly to 
the Seminary, from which he had obtained them. He, 
also, though perhaps rather unfortunately, joined his inter- 
ests with those of the Sulpitians, in a voyage of discovery 
which that order were about to make for missionary pur- 
poses, in the same direction. 

The First Voyage of Exploration, 1669-1675. 

This joint expedition, under command of La Salle, 
started from La Chine, July 6th, 1669, with the Ohio river 
as its objective point. It consisted of 4 canoes, and 15 

1 It must be remembered that the voyage of the priest Marquette, 
and the fur-trader Joliet, in 1673, had reached the Mississippi, down 
which they sailed as far as the mouth of the Arkansas. At that point, 
thinking that they had sufficiently established the fact that the waters 



4 Historical Introduction. 

men of La Salle's party; 3 canoes and 7 men of the Sul- 
pitian contingent, and 2 canoes of Seneca Indians, acting as 
guides — 9 canoes and 24. men in all. Thirty-five days 
travel brought them to the Seneca village ( Irondequoit, on 
the south side of Lake Ontario), where they found a 
cordial welcome, but, also, difficulty in obtaining guides. 
While thus delayed, there arrived in camp two Frenchmen, 
one of whom was Louis Joliet, fur-trader and voyageur, 
himself an honorable figure in the annals of western dis- 
covery. Joliet, who had visited the upper lakes, whither 
he had been sent by Talon, the French Intendant at Mon- 
treal, to discover and report upon the copper mines of Lake 
Superior, showed to the priests of La Salle's party a map 
which he had made of that region, and of which he gave 
them a copy; and he told them, moreover, of the heathen- 
ish condition of the Pottawatomies and other tribes 
dwelling in those parts. This so inflamed the religious 
zeal of the priests that they incontinently lost all their 
interest in the Ohio project, and determined to deflect their 
course toward the lake region, despite all the objections 
which La Salle could urge. So that, being firmly set in 
his own designs, he urged a recent illness as his excuse for 
parting with them; and the Sulpitians started northward, 
and got back to Montreal in June, 1670, with nothing to 
show (owing to sundry misfortunes and losses, especially 
that of their altar-service, without which tliey could not 
convert the heathen) either in the way of discovery, or of 
missionary results. La Salle's movements, after this 
" parting of the ways," and for two years following, are 
somewhat involved in obscurity. There is little doubt, 
however, that he was busily engaged in explorations and 
discoveries of some importance.^ Certain it is, that he dis- 



of the Mississippi discharged, not into the Gulf of California, but into 
the Gulf of Mexico (although they were then really only within seven 
hundred miles of its mouth) they returned to Canada and so reported. 
1 One account describes his route as being by way of Lake Chautauqua 
into the valley of the Alleghany, thence via the Ohio river to Louis- 
ville; and, in the following year, the crossing of Lake Erie, from 



Historical Introduction. 5 

covered the Ohio, since his own assertion of the fact, in a 
memoir addressed to Count Frontenac, in 1677, is con- 
firmed by the testimony of his rival, Joliet, upon whose two 
maps of the Mississippi and the great lakes, the Ohio is 
depicted with an inscription stating that it had been ex- 
plored by La Salle. 

The evidence of his having, on this voyage, reached and 
descended the Mississippi is not so clear. What militates 
most strongly against the assumption that he did so, is the 
fact, that, though he kept journals and made maps of this 
trip, which were, as late as 1765, in possession of a niece 
then living in France, at an advanced age ; yet, when, after 
La Salle's death, this niece together with an uncle and a 
nephew of the explorer petitioned the King for a certain 
grant in consideration of the discoveries made by their dis- 
tinguished relative, they made no mention of such discov- 
ery, as they would most likely have done if they had known 
of it. 

But the discovery of the Illinois river must, undoubtedly, 
be credited to him. 

Returning to Canada, from his long wanderings, he 
found great changes going on in that country. It was no 
longer simply a missionary field, but was fast assuming 
the form and character of a colony. A royal Viceroy, or 
Governor-General, had taken the place of the former Gov- 
ernor and Intendant; and the controlling interests of the 
Sulpitian order were now largely overshadowed by those 
of the Jesuits. Both Count Frontenac, the Governor, and 
the Intendant Talon, were men of similar character and held 
like views with La Salle. Like him, they entertained plans 
of wider scope than those of any previous Canadian 
officials. And when he broached his plan of finding and 
opening up of the, Mississippi, and the rich southern coun- 
try through which it ran, and of fortifying along its course, 

south to north, and via the Detroit river to Lake Huron; thence into 
Lake Michigan and the Chicago river, and across the short portage 
to the lUinois river. 



6 Historical Introduction. 

and especially at its outlet, against the incursions of the 
Spanish and English, he enlisted their ready sympathy. 
Thus, leaving to the Jesuits, with a dislike of whom they 
all three seemed to have been imbued, the frozen Canadian 
country; and to the English, that portion of the continent 
east of the Alleghanies, they proposed to themselves to con- 
quer the remainder of this vast territory for the King of 
France. 

The generally accepted French policy of that day, in 
regard to the acquisition of new territory in North 
America, was that the discovery of a great river gave 
to all the territory drained by such river an inchoate (or 
inceptive) title, which later could be completed by occu- 
pation. It was the attempt to carry out this policy which 
cost (and lost) France the Seven Years War, in which the 
politics and history of America and Europe became inex- 
tricably mixed. And of this policy, Count Frontenac, the 
Governor, Talon, the Intendant, and La Salle, the explorer, 
now became the leading exponents in Canada. They were 
all exceptionally strong men, full of ambitions and untiring 
energy, and their scheme combined not only military occu- 
pation, but the reclamation of the Indian tribes and their 
concentration around the proposed chain of French forts, 
together with colonies of French immigrants of an agricul- 
tural and industrial character, the extension of the buffalo 
fur-trade, etc. — in fact a most enchanting mirage of future 
civilization and Christianity in the vast central area of this 
continent. In itself, the scheme was too vast to be more 
than a sketch of future possibilities; and, moreover, it 
ignored certain needs and facts which were most important 
to its success. For instance, the French immigration to 
this country, at that time, was totally inadequate to furnish 
settlers enough, and with sufficient rapidity to ensure the 
successful colonization of the new territory. Again, the 
pacification among themselves, of the numerous and 
warring Indian tribes which occupied this western con- 
tinent, and the securing of their peaceful and friendly 



Historical Introduction. 7 

co-operation with the whites, was a work ahnost impossible 
within the Hmits of a generation or more — and, until it 
was done, colonization would be slow, and its difficulties 
and dangers deterrent to such emigration. Another in- 
herent point of weakness in the plan was the difficulty of 
keeping in touch with and depending upon a home govern- 
ment thousands of miles away, as well as the uncertain 
nature of such dependence in the political, commercial, and 
ecclesiastical conflicts which would be apt to arise, and 
necessarily would have to be adjusted, more or less, through 
the medium of Colonial officials — whose motives would not 
always be free from the imputation of self-interest. 

The jealousy of the Jesuits, now conscious of their 
waning power in the affairs of the new Colonial regime, 
had always been felt by La Salle — and probably with 
good reason — to be inimical to his plans ; and the future 
held out no hope of its being less persistent or bitter. 

The personality of the explorer, also, weighed fully as 
much against, as for, the success of his undertaking. By 
nature cold, reserved, and reticent, he was not a genial 
man; and possessed little or none of that magnetism which 
wins men's hearts. Absorbed, as he was, with the details 
of his great plans, and the responsibilities which they im- 
posed upon him, he was ever self-contained and self- 
repressed. Even the few most faithful and trusted com- 
panions of his labors could hardly be considered as on 
terms of intimacy with him. And the necessity of main- 
taining the strictest discipline among the class of men by 
whose following and aid he had to carry on his work — 
voyageurs, courriers des bois, traders, conoeists, and In- 
dians — who comprehended him not, but were simply com- 
pelled by the force of his will, certainly did not tend to 
establish that community of interest which should have 
existed between them. It was, in fact, this lacking quality 
in an otherwise magnificent character, which was ever 
thwarting his plans and which rendered his brief career of 
eight years in exploration work an almost uninterrupted 



8 Historical Introduction. 

record of disaster — leading — though with one momen- 
tary triumph — to a tragic end. 

Omniscience is denied to Man. It belongs only to the 
Creator, who has given to men, in its place, the limited 
faculty of foresight. And, with such foresight as they 
had, the three promoters of the fortunes of New France — 
Count Frontenac, Talon, and La Salle — formulated their 
plans, and in the autumn of 1674 the latter sailed for 
France, to obtain the royal sanction and the moneyed help 
which were needed. Whatever the strength or the weak- 
nesses of their project, money was their sine qua non. 

La Sailers first return to France. Bearing strong letters 
of recommendation from Frontenac to the French Minis- 
ter of State, Colbert,^ he met with a cordial reception at 
home. In response to his petitions to the King, he was, 
in consideration of his services as an explorer, raised to 
the ranks of the untitled nobility^ and was granted the 
seigniory of the new post on Lake Ontario, which, in honor 
to his patron, was named Fort Frontenac. He was also 
invested with the command of the same, together with that 
of the settlement around it, subject to the authority of his 
friend the Governor-General. On his part he undertook 
to repay to the King the cost of the fort, to maintain it, at 
his own charge, with a garrison equal to that of Montreal, 
besides laborers ; to form a French colony around it, as well 
as one of domesticated Indians near by; to build a church 
and support one or more Recollet friars. 

He had but little trouble, now that he was in the sun- 
shine of royal favor, in obtaining from, his gratified family 
and friends the needed funds; and on his return to Can- 

iLa Salle had, in the parlance of the present day, "made himself 
solid " with the Governor, by his active participation in Frontenac's 
plans for the enlargement of the French power in Canada; especially 
in the matter of holding a council with the Iroquois, at Onondaga, 
where a treaty of peace was secured from that powerful and warlike 
tribe, which seemed to ensure peace for many years. 

2 La Salle's Patent of Nobility is given in the second volume of this 
series, " Shea's Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi Valley," 
from Paris Doc. in Sec'y's Office, Albany, vol. ii, pp. 8-1 1. 



Historical Introduction. 9 

ada (1675), proceeded to comply with the terms of his 
seigniorial grant. Within two years, the original wooden 
fort was replaced by a much larger one of cut stone, on the 
land side, and on the outer side by palisades, and its walls 
manned by nine small cannon. On the inside it contained 
barracks, a guard -house, officers' quarters, a forge, a well, 
a mill, and a bakery — all of substantial build. Its gar- 
rison consisted of two officers, a surgeon, and ten or twelve 
soldiers, with a large number of masons, laborers, and 
canoe-men. Near the two villages which stretched along 
the shore south of the fort (one of French farm-tenants, 
the other of friendly Iroquois) were the chapel and resi- 
dence of two Recollet friars. Over a hundred (French) 
acres of cleared and cultivated land, and cattle, fowl, and 
swine, brought from Montreal, gave ample evidence of 
permanent occupation; and four vessels for lake and river 
navigation, as well as a fleet of canoes, hinted strongly at 
the seignior's predilection for travel and exploration. 
Feudal lord of the entire region around him (for the 
nearest settlement was a week's journey distant), com- 
mander of a garrison paid by himself, founder and patron 
of a church, he was now literally " master of all which he 
surveyed;" and had he been content so to remain, would 
soon have become a merchant-prince, for, ere long, as esti- 
mated by a friend, he was " making more than 25,ocx) 
livres a year." 

His cup of success, however, was not without its in- 
fusion of bitterness. He found himself in a very mael- 
strom of opposition and detraction, arising from the 
jealousy of those interested in the Montreal fur-trade, 
(especially among the Jesuits), who saw in the royal favors 
conferred on La Salle the ultimate downfall of their own 
interests. In this violent imbroglio of commercial, polit- 
ical and priestly rivalry, envy, malice, contemptible, and 
persistent espionage, and even poison, played their respec- 
tive parts. 

Meanwhile, the free life of Nature was wooing his 



lo Historical Introduction, 

spirit, the fever of exploration was still strong upon him; 
and he valued the position he had attained only as a 
stepping-stone to the realization of his life-long dream. 

La Salle's second return visit to France. So, in the 
autumn of 1677, leaving his fort and seigniory in charge of 
a trusted lieutenant, La Forest, who was also one of his 
partners in the proposed fur-trade, La Salle sailed again for 
France. There, lodged modestly in a rather obscure quar- 
ter of Paris, he renewed the friendships and associations 
which he had formed during his previous visit; and added 
to them by making new and valuable friends. Among 
these were the Marquis de Seigneley, the Prince de Conti, 
La Motte de Sussiere, and last but not least, Henri de 
Tonti, thenceforth his foremost companion in his Western 
labors.^ La Salle also received from the King a royal 
patent authorizing him to explore and occupy the Missis- 
sippi country, " through which, to all appearances, a way 
may be found to Mexico." This patent, confirmatory of 
that granted him in 1675, imposed upon him the erection 
and maintenance of such forts as he might deem necessary, 
and gave him a monopoly for five years of the trade in 
buffalo hides. The whole expense was to be borne (as was 
the custom of the monarchs of that day, in granting lands 
which they did not own, and the privileges which such 
grants carried with them) by the grantee. The fur-trade 
of the Montreal colony was not to be interfered with; nor 
did the patent include any provision or encouragement of 
the industrial or colonization scheme which had fully taken 

1 Capt. Tonti (or Tont3% as he signed his name in its Gallicized 
form) was an Italian (the son of the financier who instituted that 
form of life-insurance known as the Tontine), an ex-officer in the 
Sicilian wars, where, by the explosion of a grenade, he lost one of his 
hands. This loss was supplied, in some measure, by an artificial hand 
of iron, or some other metal, over which he always wore a glove, and 
the weight of which was, in one or two instances at least, felt by the 
savages who tried to intimidate him. Tonti's name will survive in 
history as that of La Salle's most faithful and courageous friend and 
lieutenant, and one who, by reason of his noble qualities is entitled 
to our admiration and respect. See also Parkman's La Salle (Cham- ■ 
plain edit., i, 129). 



Historical Introduction. ii 

possession of La Salle's mind. Content, however, with 
what he could get in the way of kingly favor — on the 
principle, perhaps, that " half a loaf is better than no loaf," 
the adventurer turned his attention to securing- the needed 
funds, and soon, by loans from friends and family, and by 
mortgages upon his Fort Frontenac property, had raised 
sufficient to carry out his purpose. 

On the 14th July, 1678, Le Sieur La Salle, as he must 
thenceforth be called, with Tonti, La Motte, and 30 men, 
mostly ship carpenters, with a cargo of iron, cordage, 
anchors, etc., sufficient for the equipment of two vesselS; 
set sail for Quebec, where they arrived after a two months' 
voyage. Here they met with Father Hennepin, a Recollet 
friar, who had come to Canada three years before, and 
whose name from this point is prominently connected with 
American Western exploration.^ 

The Second Voyage of Exploration (1678-1679) 
was virtually commenced, under the orders of La Salle 
(who was with Tonti) detained at Quebec by his own 
affairs, and the difficulties arising from the machinations 
of his enemies,^ by La Motte and Hennepin. They set 
sail, from Fort Frontenac, November 18th, 1678, in a small 
vessel of ten tons ; but it was not until the 6th of December 
that they reached the mouth of the Niagara river and 
saw the grand cataract of which Hennepin's pencil has 
preserved the first known picture and description. Two 
leagues above the mouth of the Niagara river La Motte 
began the erection of a fort, where he was joined later by 
La Salle and Tonti. Here, under almost unsurmountable 



1 Hennepin was a Jesuit priest, a courageous and rather able man, 
to whose memoirs we are indebted for much information concerning 
La Salle's and other early explorations; though the value of his 
writings is much impaired by his tendency to tell large stories, and 
to claim for himself the credit which belonged to others ; a tendency 
which seemed to increase more and more with each successive edition 
of his book. 

2 The animus of this enmity, which persistently followed La Salle 
for the rest of his life, is fully explained on pp. 101-104 of Parkman's 
La Salle, Champlain edition, vol. i. 



12 Historical Introduction. 

obstacles, due to the excessive cold, and hunger, as well 
as jealousies among the men, and the distrust of the 
Indians, a ship-yard was improvised, and a vessel of about 
45 tons was builded and equipped with five small cannon. 
She was named the GrifUn, in honor of the Governor-Gen- 
eral, and her prow was ornamented with a grotesque figure 
of that somewhat apocryphal animal, in compliment to 
his family arms.^ 

The building of this fort and of the Griffin was a master- 
stroke of La Salle's, for Niagara was the key to the four 
great upper lakes (Erie, Huron, Superior, and Michigan), 
and by its position would control the fur-trade of the whole 
northern country. In time of peace it would intercept the 
trade between the Iroquois and the Dutch and English at 
Albany; in time of war it would be a menace to both. 

Any forward movement, however, was delayed from Feb- 
ruary until August, 1679, by the absence of La Salle, who 
had been obliged to return, with Tonti, to Fort Frontenac 
for needed supplies, and to attend to some of his private 
affairs. For his creditors, excited by false reports of his 
insolvency, had seized upon all his available property, out- 
side of his seigniory. 

Despite these embarrassments, however, he pushed for- 
ward his enterprise, and by the 7th of August the Griffin 
was sailing upon the waters of Lake Erie, never before 
ploughed by the keel of a white man's ship. Passing 
through the Straits of Detroit and into Lake Huron, they 
stayed not their course, although nearly wrecked by a fierce 
gale, until, early in September, they dropped anchor at 
the entrance of Green Bay, within the waters of Lake 
Michigan. Here, at Michilimackinac, was a Jesuit mis- 
sion and centre of Indian trade, where they were received 
with show of welcome by the holy fathers, and with evi- 
dent distrust by their Indian proteges. Here La Salle 

1 La Salle often prophesied, says Parkman (La Salle, i, 149), that 
he " would make the griffin fly above the crows," i. e., that he would 
make the influence of Frontenac triumph over that of the Jesuits. 



Historical Introduction. 13 

found that a party of his men whom he had sent on in 
advance to the IlHnois, to trade for him and make prepara- 
tions for his coming, had been tampered with, had appro- 
priated the goods in their charge to their own uses, and 
that many of them were missing. Six of these rascals 
were found at Michihmackinac, and with two found by 
Tonti at the Sault Ste. Marie, were captured with their 
pkmder and the remainder had taken to the woods. It had 
been La Salle's intention to leave his party at this point 
to proceed on their way to the Illinois, under Tonti, while 
he himself should return to Canada, to look after and pro- 
tect his own concerns there. But Tonti was just then ab- 
sent, and there was great need of his remaining with his 
men, lest they should again be enticed away from their 
duty. Besides, he was desirous to frustrate a plan of his 
enemies, which he thought he had discovered, to set the 
Iroquois " by the ears " with the Illinois, with a view to 
draw him into the war, and thus interrupt his plans. 

Finally sailing westward into Lake Michigan he found 
near Green Bay^ several faithful men of the advance party 
whom he had sent out, who had collected there and on the 
way thither, a considerable store of furs; which he deter- 
mined to send back to Niagara, on the GriMn, to satisfy his 
exacting creditors, with orders to return to the head of 
Lake Michigan as soon as possible.^ She set sail on this 
return voyage on the i8th of September, in the face of a 
storm, which prevailed for several days. In the same storm, 
also, La Salle and the fourteen men left to him, by numer- 
ous desertions en route, resumed their journey, in four 
canoes, heavily laden with a forge, tools, merchandise, and 
arms. It was no pleasure trip; twice they were swamped, 

1 Green Bay was a mission among several Indian tribes of Lake 
Michigan, established by the Jesuit fathers, Allouez and Dablon, 
1669-70. 

2 By the terms of his patent from the King, this was clearly an 
infringment of the monopoly belonging to the Montreal colony, and 
was subsequently used against him by his enemies, as well as being 
the primal cause of his loss of the GriMn. 



14 Historical Introduction. 

and nearly lost the contents of their canoes, as well as their 
lives : drenched, cold, and without provisions, they suffered 
much, and distrust of the Indians with whom they met on 
shore increased their sufferings. But steadily he pushed on 
along the western coast of Lake Michigan, and circled 
around its southern end until he reached the mouth of the 
St. Joseph, called by him the Miami. Here he had ex- 
pected to meet Tonti with twenty men, coming along the 
eastern shore of the lake from Michilimackinac. But no 
Tonti was there. It was the ist of November, the streams 
were freezing over, and their provisions were fail- 
ing. Unless they could reach the villages of the Illinois 
before the Indians left for their winter hunt, starvation 
might be their fate. The dissatisfaction of his men pre- 
saged mutiny and desertion, but La Salle firmly refused 
to remove from the place where they were, and affirmed 
his intention, if they should desert, to remain with his 
Mohegan hunter and the three friars of his party until 
the arrival of Tonti. Then, the better to occupy their 
thoughts, he set them to work on the building of a timber 
fort. Twenty days later, and when this work was well 
under way, Tonti appeared, but with only half of his 
men. Provisions having failed, he had left the remainder 
thirty leagues behind, to get their living as best they mighty 
by hunting. But La Salle sent him back, with two men, 
to find and bring them forward. On this return trip, their 
canoe was swamped in a violent gale, and guns, baggage, 
and provisions were lost and they returned to the fort on 
the Miami, subsisting on acorns by the way. The balance 
of Tonti's party, except a couple of deserters, came into 
camp a few days after. 

But the GrifUn came not back to the waiting party. Nor 
was her fate ever known; whether she was lost by stress 
of storm, by Indian attack, or (as La Salle always thought) 
by treachery of her pilot. Longer delay, however, was 
impossible: and so, after sending back two of his men to 
Michilimackinac, and to pilot her, if she still existed, to the 



Historical Introduction. 15 

Miami fort, his party, numbering 33 in all, was re-em- 
barked, 3rd December, 1679, on the St. Joseph, keeping a 
sharp lookout along the right-hand shore for the path or 
portage leading to the headwaters of the Illinois river. 
This, owing to the absence of the Mohegan hunter, they 
missed, and La Salle went on shore to look it up, lost his 
way, and passed a dismal night in a thick snowstorm. 
Meantime Tonti and Hennepin, growing uneasy, also 
landed, ordered guns to be fired, and sent out men to find 
their lost commander, if possible. He was found near 
morning, and, with the aid of the Mohegan, who had re- 
turned, the portage was also found and La Salle, excess- 
ively fatigued, turned in, with Hennepin, for a little rest 
in a wigwam which was covered with mats made of reeds. 
During the night the cold forced them to kindle a fire, from 
which the mats caught ablaze, so that before daybreak they 
were turned out into the cold again, having barely escaped 
being burned with their shelter. In the morning, shoulder- 
ing their canoes, they started across the portage to the head- 
waters of the Illinois — distant some five miles. As the 
party filed along on their way, a disgruntled man, who 
walked behind La Salle, raised his gun to shoot him in the 
back, but was prevented by a companion. Reaching the 
Kankakee, one of the sources of the Illinois, they floated 
their canoes on its thin and sluggish stream; and passing 
through wide areas of swamps, and prairies, glided along 
at the base of " Starved Rock " near the great town of the 
Illinois, and on New Year's Day, 1680, reached the head 
of the Illinois river, where they landed, and Father Henne- 
pin celebrated the Mass. Four days later they had reached 
the long expansion — the river now called Peoria Lake, 
and near its southern end they came upon a large camp of 
Indians, who received them at first with surprise and en- 
mity. But La Salle and his men leaped ashore, and by his 
bravery and knowledge of Indian character quelled their 
fears, so that Frenchmen and Indians were soon seated 
together at a feast such as the former had not for some 



1 6 Historical Introduction. 

time seen. The calumet of peace was exchanged and La 
Salle explained to his hosts his object and his wish for 
peace, so that they all retired to sleep in amity. In the 
morning, however, La Salle found that he was regarded 
with distrust, and soon learned that Indian emissaries from 
another tribe had been tampering, over-night, with his 
hosts — who now appeared quite indisposed to friendship. 
He saw, in this sudden change of front, the hand of the 
Jesuits, and when, at a second feast, tendered by one of the 
chiefs, he was urged to desist from his plan of descending 
the Mississippi, by arguments of the number, valor, and 
ferocity of the tribes inhabiting its valley, the terrors of 
alligators, serpents, and unnatural monsters, and the fear- 
ful nature of the river itself, he was fully confirmed in his 
opinion. In a strong, but temperate address. La Salle de- 
clared his disbelief in those marvelous tales, and affirmed 
that they were lies, inspired by French jealousy of his 
project, and sent them through Iroquois sources. A few 
days later, a band of Mississippi Indians visited the camp, 
from whom he learned the utter falsity of these stories and 
also had the assurance that the tribes along that river would 
receive the white men with favor. On this he took the first 
opportunity, at another feast, of confronting the Illinois 
chiefs with so full a description of the river (which he 
said had been communicated to him by " the Great Spirit ") 
its course and its final meeting with the sea, that his sav- 
age hearers " clapped their hands to their mouths," in as- 
tonishment, and conceiving him to be a sorcerer, confessed 
that what they had said was false and inspired only by 
their desire to retain him amongst them. 

Meanwhile, he had determined to fortify himself for the 
winter (it was now the middle of January) in a position 
where he could face an Illinois outbreak, or an Iroquois 
invasion, better than he could do in the Indian camp where 
he was then a guest. Taking advantage of a thaw, which 
temporarily reopened the frozen river, he with Hennepin, 
in a canoe, sought and soon found the site he had chosen. 



Historical Introduction. 17 

on a low hill, or knoll, half a league from the camp and 
about 200 yards from the southern bank. In front of this 
knoll was a marsh, overflowed at high tide, and on either 
side a ravine. A ditch was dug behind this knoll, connect- 
ing these two ravines, and thus isolating it from the main- 
land. On each side of the hill, which was nearly square, 
an embankment was thrown up and its sloping sides were 
guarded by chevaux-de-frise, and a 25-foot palisade sur- 
rounded the whole. The buildings within this area were 
of musket-proof timber. This fort, the first civilized act 
of occupation in the present State of Illinois, he named 
Fort Crevecceur. 

" La Salle's men," says Parkman, " were for the most 
part raw hands, knowing nothing of the wilderness, and 
easily alarmed at its dangers, * * * {^ -y^^s to the last 
degree difficult to hold men to their duty. Once fairly in 
the wilderness, completely freed from the sharp restraints 
of authority in which they had passed their lives, a spirit of 
lawlessness broke out among them with a violence propor- 
tioned to the pressure which had hitherto suppressed it. 
Discipline had no resources and no guarantee; while these 
outlaws of the forest, the courriers des hois, were always 
before their eyes, a standing example of unbridled license." 
Desertions and disaffections among his followers were, at 
this time, a heavy burden to La Salle ; and he even barely 
escaped from another attempt to poison him. Finally, how- 
ever, having apparently placated the Indians of the vicinity, 
and checked, as he hoped, the disposition to mutiny and 
desertion among his men, which had been a constant men- 
ace to his plans,^ he built, in an incredibly short time, a 

1 He clearly foresaw what this journey involved, for as he wrote 
to one of his associates in his enterprise, "though the thaws of ap- 
proaching Spring greatly increased the difficulty of the way, inter- 
rupted as it was everywhere by marshes and rivers, to say nothing 
of the length of the journey, which is about 500 leagues in a direct 
line, and the danger of meeting Indians of four or five different 
nations through whose country we were to pass, as well as an Iroquois 
army which we knew was coming that way; though we must suffer 
all the time from hunger, sleep on the open ground, and often with- 



1 8 Historical Introduction. 

vessel of 40 tons' burden with which to descend the river to 
the Mississippi. He also sent Hennepin and two others in 
a canoe to explore the Illinois to its junction with the 
larger river. He himself, having now given up all hopes 
of the Griffin, began a return to Canada, for needed sup- 
plies, in canoes, with four Frenchmen and an Indian 
hunter, leaving the faithful Tonti, with a dozen or so men 
to hold the fort and guard the half-finished ship. It was 
a desperate journey, but he felt that unless the articles lost 
in the GrifUn were replaced without delay, the expedition 
would be retarded for a full year, and probably utterly 
foiled by the additional expense which would be incurred 
for the support of his men. On the way he met the two 
men whom he had sent back to Michilimackinac in search 
of the GriMn, but they brought him no tidings of her fate, 
and ordering them to join Tonti at Fort Crevecceur, he 
pressed firmly on. He also took occasion to examine the 
capabilities of the " Starved Rock " upon the Illinois, and 
sent back word to Tonti to make it a stronghold of defense 
in case of necessity. His journey occupied sixty-five days 
of incessant toil, danger, and accidents that rendered it 
" the most adventurous one ever made by a Frenchman 
in America;" he himself was the only one of the party who 
did not break down, either from fatigue or illness, and 
when Lake Erie was reached, it was his arm alone which 
ferried their canoe over to the blockhouse at Niagara. They 
reached Fort Frontenac on the 6th of May, and he pushed 
on directly to Montreal. 

His sudden reappearance there caused the greatest as- 

out food; watch by night and march by day, loaded with baggage 
such as blankets, clothing, kettle, hatchet, gun, powder, lead, and 
skins to make moccasins; sometimes pushing through thickets, some- 
times climbing rocks covered with ice and snow, sometimes wading 
whole days through marshes where the water was waist-deep, or 
even more, at a season when the snow was not entirely melted — 
though I knew of this, it did not prevent me from resolving to go 
on foot to Fort Frontenac, to learn for myself what had become 
of my vessel, and bring back the things we needed." — Parkman's 
La Salle (Champlain edit.), i, 189-90. 



Historical Infroduction. 19 

tonishment; and he was met on every hand with news of 
disaster. Both Man and Nature seemed in arms against 
him; his agents had plundered him, creditors had seized 
upon his property, a vessel from France, laden with stores 
valued at over 10,000 crowns, had been lost at the mouth 
of the St. Lawrence, and of twenty men hired in Europe, 
some had been detained by the Intendant Duchesneau, and 
all but four of the remainder had been told that he was 
dead, and had returned home. Yet, undaunted by these 
staggering blows of Fortune, he went vigorously to work ; 
and, within a week, succeeded in gaining the supplies he 
so much needed for the forlorn band he had left behind 
him on the Illinois. Finally, on the very eve of his em- 
barkation from Fort Frontenac, a letter from Tonti in- 
formed him. that most of the men left at Fort Crevecccur 
had deserted, plundered the fort, and destroyed all the 
arms, goods, etc., which they could not carry away with 
them; and this was followed by a letter from two friendly 
lake traders which told him that the deserters had also 
destroyed his fort at St. Joseph, seizing a quantity of furs 
belonging to him at Michilimackinac,-^ and plundered the 
magazine at Niagara; and that, largely reinforced by others, 
they were seeking him along the northern shore of Lake 
Ontario, with the design of killing him, if they met, in 
order to escape punishment for their misdeeds. La Salle's 
courage rose promptly to the occasion. Choosing nine of 
his trustiest men, he started out, in canoes, to face them, 
met and captured four of them in one canoe and killed 
two and captured three others in another canoe. His pris- 
oners he placed in custody at Fort Frontenac, to await the 
coming of Governor-General Frontenac; and immediately 
put out on his return to the Illinois, and the relief of his gal- 
lant lieutenant Tonti. He took with him a new lieutenant, 
one La Forest, a surgeon, ship-carpenter, joiners, masons, 

1 A Jesuit mission, established among the Hurons, 1670-72, by 
Father Marquette. 



20 Historical Introduction. 

soldiers, voyageurs and laborers, 25 men in all, with full 
outfits of all needed tools for the building of the vessel and 
a new fort. By a shorter route than that of the previous 
year, they arrived at Michilimackinac, pushed on with 
12 men to the ruined fort at St. Joseph, where he left 
the heavy stores, under a small guard, to await the arrival 
of La Forest. His anxiety to reach Tonti, of whom, thus 
far, he had heard nothing, was greatly increased by a 
rumor of an impending invasion of the Illinois country, 
by the Iroquois, which foreboded a new disaster to his 
enterprise. And as the party passed down the Illinois, it 
met with evidences everywhere that the two savage tribes 
had indeed met in combat, to the utter rout of the Illinois ; 
but their anxiety in regard to Tonti was not relieved by 
an);- word or sign. The vessel, however, which he had 
left unfinished at Fort Crevecoeur was still entire, and but 
slightly damaged. Once more taking to their canoes, they 
descended the river (250 miles) to its junction with the 
Mississippi, which they first saw about the 7th of Decem- 
ber, 1781.^ There was now nothing left for him, except to 
retrace his way up the Illinois to relieve the men whom he 
had left at the fort on the St. Joseph.^ And, though to his 
surprise he learned no tidings of Tonti, he found that his 
men under La Forest's orders had restored the fort, cleared 
a place for planting, and prepared the timber and plank for 
a new vessel. 

Tonti, meanwhile, finding himself caught in the very 
midst of the terrible war between the Iroquois and the 

iThe white man's name, "The Father of Waters," applied to this 
river, is a rather grandiloquent paraphrase of the Indian's " All Water," 
but seems to apply only to one feature of its greatness — viz., its 
size. The Indian name, how^ever, compounded of Missi, whole, and 
sipi, river, more nearly describes its collective character, as the great 
irrigating system of this vast region, receiving many tributaries, both 
great and small. 

2 Fortunately, his fort and colony were not attacked at that time; 
but later it withstood a six-days' siege, under the combined command 
of Tonti (as La Salle's representative) and De Baugis, a French 
officer, representing the Governor-General. The attack, however, was 
unsuccessful. 



Historical Introduction, 21 

Illinois — from which he extricated himself and his party 
only by the supreme exercise of his wisdom and courage, 
against odds almost unsurmountable, had reached Lake 
Michigan, near Chicago, and following its borders north- 
ward had reached Green Bay, in a starved and half-frozen 
condition, from which they were relieved by a friendly tribe 
of Pottawatomies. In March, La Salle heard of the safety 
of Tonti, and in May, to their great joy, these two brave 
men were reunited.^ 

La Salle passed the winter at his fort on the Miami, on 
the St. Joseph, by the border of Lake Michigan, planning 
how to meet the old disappointments and difficulties which 
still surrounded him, as well as the new contingencies which 
he foresaw would soon arise. Of these latter, the most 
formidable was the enmity of the ferocious Iroquois na- 
tion, which had already terrorized the Illinois, and shown 
a disposition to interfere with his own plans. To this end, 
he conceived the idea of a confederation of the Illinois 
with some of the Western tribes, and some from the New 
England, and Atlantic borders of the East, which, under 
his leadership and the protection of France, would be a 
mutual defense against the incursions of the Iroquois. This 
bold project he speedily carried into effect, by his tact, per- 
sonal address, and superb oratory — for he was a natural- 
born diplomat, especially in all his dealings with Indians. 
This done he returned to Canada, to compose his own dis- 
turbed affairs, collect his scattered resources, and placate 
his creditors. By the beginning of autumn he was again 
on his way to complete the task — already twice defeated 
— of discovering the mouth of the Mississippi. For, though 
he had satisfied himself that it really existed, he had still 
to determine its course, and navigability, and the nature of 

1 The account of these evidences and of La Salle's consequent 
anxiety as to Tonti's fate, are well described by Parkman (La Salle, 
i, pp. 205-213, Champlain edit.). The record of Tonti's tribula- 
tions in this invasion of the Iroquois into the Illinois town, and his 
heroic conduct, is given in chapter XVI of same volume. 



22 Historical Introduction. 

its exit into the ocean ^ as well as to acquaint himself with 
its resources, and its savage inhabitants. When he reached 
his fort at the Miami in October, he found there some of 
his new Indian allies from the East, and with i8 of 
them and 23 of his own Frenchmen, started for the head- 
waters of the Illinois — dragging their canoes and baggage 
on sledges, as the streams were frozen. They reached the 
Mississippi on the 6th of February, launched their little fleet 
of canoes, and — delayed a few days by floating ice — re- 
sumed their course, passing successively the mouths of the 
Missouri, the Ohio, and the Arkansas rivers, and making 
visits to many tribes along their course, by whom they 
were well received. As they reached the end of their 
journey, on the 6th of April, sixty-two days from the time 
of entering the river, they saw that the river divided into 
three broad channels, or mouths, of which La Salle fol- 
lowed the western one, Dautray the eastern, and Tonti the 
middle one. 

After La Salle had located, in his canoe, the nearby 
borders of the great sea, or gulf (of Mexico) which spread 
before them, the three parties reassembled (April 9th, 

1 For, it must be remembered, the fact of the existence of this 
great river was known to the European world long before La Salle's 
time. Its three mouths are shown in the edition of Ptolomy, 
printed at Venice in 15 13 — wherein the delta of the Mississippi is 
traced with more accuracy than in the maps of the next centurjr. 
Dr. J. G. Shea, in the Introduction (pp. x-lxxv) to the volume of this 
series (The Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi Valley, 1903) 
has very carefully and clearly epitomized the results of the earliest 
explorations down to those of La Salle, viz., that of Garay ( 1578) ; 

of De Vaca ( ) ; of Friar Mark (1539) ; and of De Soto (1539) ; 

of Muscoso (i539~43); of De Luna (iS57) ; of other missionary 
efforts (1580) ; and of others of less account, which all kept alive the 
knowledge of the great river of the North American continent called 
by the Spanish Rio del Espiritu Santo. 

Then early in the seventeenth century, came the French explorers ; 
Champlain and the Jesuits (1608) ; Nicolet (1639) ; Jogues (1641) ; Al- 
louez (1669); Dablon (1670); Marquette (1673), and Joliet — all of 
whom, by observation or report, confirmed the existence of the 
Mississippi. 

All of these were influenced in their labors by greed, by the spirit 
of commercialism and adventure, or by a sublime faith and religious 
zeal. It was reserved for La Salle to enter this region with the 
distinct idea of colonization, and of making it a source of revenue and 
a glory to the land which he represented. 



Historical Introduction. 23 

1682) at a spot where a column was erected and near it a 
plate was buried bearing the arms inscribed with the words 
of France, and " Loids Le Grande, Roy de France et de 
Navarre, Regne, Le Neuvieme, Avril, 1682. Then while 
the Te Deiim, the Exaudeat and the Domine Salvum 
fac Regem were chanted, the volleys of musketry dis- 
charged by the men under arms, with cries of " Vive le 
Roi ; " a cross was planted beside the column and Le Sieur 
de Salle, sword in hand, proclaimed the new-found terri- 
tory as Louisiana, and Louis XIV as its King and rightful 
Lord. 

The vast domain thus secured, after the manner of those 
times, to the French Crown, extended from the Alleghanies 
to the Rocky Mountains, and from the Rio Grande and the 
Gulf of Mexico to the farthest springs of the Missouri ; but 
the name — Louisiana — which he gave it is now con- 
fined to a single commonwealth in the great sisterhood of 
states forming the United States of America. 

Now, in the culmination of his triumph he was seized 
by an illness so severe as to threaten his life ; and was un- 
able to reach Fort Miami, even by slow stages, before 
August, and to rejoin Tonti, whom he had dispatched with 
news of his success to Canada. It seems to have been about 
this time that be began to abandon the difficult access which 
he had hitherto found, through Canada, with all its dan- 
gers and enemies, both whites and Indians; and to reach 
the region of his hopes and toils more directly by way of 
the Gulf of Mexico and the mouth of the Mississippi. His 
plans of descending that river by means of a vessel had 
twice been thwarted by disasters which proved its futility; 
and to attempt his purpose with canoes would be fraught 
with much difficulty and an enormous expense. He pur- 
posed now, in view of all his past experiences, to form on 
the banks of the Illinois a colony of French and Indians, as 
a place of storage of the furs which could be gathered by 
the various Western tribes; and as a defense against the 
Iroquois, who were alike inimical to the French and their 



24 Historical Introduction. 

Illinois allies. And rumors of an impending renewal 
of attack upon these allies urged him to greater 
speed ; so he and Tonti repaired at once to " Starved 
Rock," before mentioned.^ This was a cliff, rising to a 
height of 125 feet, on the southern bank of the Illinois, 
presenting on three sides a sheer perpendicular wall, and 
on its other side a deep ravine; and it was accessible only 
by a difficult climb from behind. Its area was about an acre. 
This rock, in December, 1662, they cleared of the forest 
which crowned it, dragged timber up the ragged pathway, 
built storehouses and dwellings, and surrounded the sum- 
mit with palisades. In this eyrie, which he christened 
Fort St. Louis of the Illinois, the winter was passed by 
La Salle's company, and by tactful management he secured 
the friendship of the neighboring tribes.^ 

Around and under the protection of this fortification 
was soon gathered a motley gathering of the Illinois, and 
fragments of other tribes, all looking to him as their feudal 
lord; and to these followers, by virtue of his seigniorial 
rights, he began to grant parcels of land, and soon had 
the nucleus of a colony of some 20,000 souls, numbering 
about 4,000 warriors. 

But, while thus engaged in the wilderness, matters in 
Canada were looming up adversely to his interests. His 
friend and patron. Count Frontenac, had been recalled to 
France, and the man who succeeded him as Governor- 
General, one de La Barre, was prejudiced against the ex- 
plorer and constantly misrepresenting him to the home 
government in France. Furthermore, emboldened by the 
tone of the King's letter, who had been led to condemn La 
Salle's doings and plans, La Barre, with other associates, 
seized Fort Frontenac (which was La Salle's property), 
despite the remonstrances of the creditors and mortgagees; 
sold his stores for their own benefit, and turned his cattle 

1 This place, of which a view is given at p. 168 of Parkman's La Salle^ 
vol. i, Champlain edition, is about six miles below the town of Ottawa, 
Illinois. 

2 La Salle's estimate of the number of these Indians was about 
20,000, or a fighting capacity of 4,000 warriors. 



Historical Introduction. 25 

to pasture on the growing crops. The position of La 
Salle became intolerable, cut off from his supplies, for 
which he entreated Governor La Barre in vain, threatened 
with an onslaught of the Iroquois, and unable to afford his 
own Indian allies the help which he had promised them, he 
had no other resource than to leave his wilderness colony in 
faithful Tonti's care, and cross the ocean again to face his 
enemies before the Court and King. 

La Salle's third return visit to France. So, early in the 
autumn of 1683, he again turned his face homeward* 
Quite to his surprise, as we may well imagine, La Salle 
found that the time of his return was fortuitous. His old 
friends rallied around him; his enemies seemed, for the 
moment, to have lost their influence against him. Best 
of all, both the King and his Ministers were in better 
humor with him than, from the tone of recent home corre- 
spondence, he had reason to expect. The country was now 
at war with Spain, and the trend of official opinion chimed 
in very happily with the proposals which he had to offer for 
the consideration of King and Ministry. 

These proposals were (i) to establish a fortified post 
upon the Gulf of Mexico, within one year after his arrival 
there; (2) to fortify on the Mississippi, about fifty leagues 
above its mouth, and there collect an army of over 15,000 
Indians; thus commanding the whole river valley, and 
forming a base for military operations against the Span- 
iards in the most northern province of Mexico. His plan 
also embraced the adding (on his way) 50 buccaneers at 
St. Domingo, and 4,000 Indian warriors from his Fort St. 
Louis on the Illinois. For this design, he asked for a ves- 
sel of 30 guns, a few cannon for the forts, and 200 men, 
to be raised in France, armed, paid, and maintained at the 
King's expense. If, by peace with Spain, he was prevented 
for more than three years from the full execution of this 
contract, he bound himself to refund to the Crown all the 
costs of the enterprise, or forfeit the government of the 
posts thus established. The scheme which he thus out- 
lined to the French monarch and his Minister Seignelay, 



26 Historical Introduction. 

of bidding defiance to Spanish incursions, and of con- 
trolling the entire trade and colonization of the entire 
Mississippi valley, was most gladly and promptly accepted 
by them. La Forest, La Salle's lieutenant, being then in 
Paris, was dispatched to Canada, empowered to recover 
and reoccupy, in La Salle's name, the Forts Frontenac and 
St. Louis of the Illinois, from which he had been dispos- 
sessed by Governor La Barre; and to the latter the King 
personally wrote, ordering him to restore to La Salle, or his 
representative, all the property of which he had been un- 
justly deprived. As to the equipment of the expedition, 
he was given four vessels, instead of the two for which 
he had asked, viz., the Joly, a 36-gun ship of the royal 
navy, a 6-gun ship, a store-ship, and a ketch. Soldiers 
were enrolled, besides 30 volunteers, many of whom were 
gentlemen and of the better class of the bourgeois; several 
families, and girls matrimonially inclined, as colonists; 
together with pilots, mechanics, laborers, and six friars and 
priests of the Sulpitian and Recollet orders.^ 

Unfortunately, the expedition, from the first, was 
hampered with a divided command. La Salle's request 
had been for its sole command, with a subaltern officer, one 
or two pilots, and entire control of the route they should 
take, and of the troops and colonists on land. But the 
command of the ships was given, by the Minister, to one 
Beaujeu, an old and experienced officer of the royal navy — 
and even before the expedition set sail, a collision of 
opinions and authority arose between the two heads of the 
expedition, which imperiled its success.^ 

Finally, on the 24th of July, 1684, the expedition sailed, 
from Rochelle. Its further history is to be found in the 
following pages of Joutel's Journal. 

1 La Salle's brother, the Abbe Cavelier, Fathers Membre, Douay 
and Le Clerc, all more or less afterward associated with American 
exploration, were among this clerical contingent. 

2 Most interesting as to these troubles, and La Salle's mental condi- 
tion at this critical point, are the pages 97-109, vol. II of Parkman's 
La Salle (Champlain edition). 



Biographical Note. 



Henri Joutel, the writer of this narrative, was a 
native of Rouen, in France. His father had formerly been 
liead-gardener to Henri CaveHer, the uncle of Rene Robert 
Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, the explorer, whose presence 
and projects for a new voyage to the Mississippi were 
the engrossing subjects of interest to his fellow towns- 
men of Rouen just at the time of Joutel 's return from a 
seventeen years' service in the army.^ 

Being then in the prime of his young manhood, of an ad- 
venturous spirit, unhampered by family responsibilities, 
and free for any new employment, he very naturally be- 
came a volunteer in the enterprise of his distinguished 
fellow-townsman. He evidently possessed a fair educa- 
tion for that day, and a character for reliability and experi- 
ence, which, together with his personal and business quali- 
fications, rendered him most acceptable to La Salle's pro- 
jected undertaking. His social position in his native town, 
if we may infer from the title of " Mr." usually prefixed 
to his name, was that of a bourgeois — that class in the 
community which for centuries has been the mainstay and 
source of France's stability and prosperity. In the mixed 
military and naval expedition which sailed under La Salle's 
orders, his position seems not to have been that of a com- 
missioned officer, though he styles himself in his Journal, 
" a Commander," but rather that of a personal lieutenant 



1 " Sixteen or seventeen years," as he says in his Journal, under 
date of July, 1684 ; " so that, as he could hardly have entered the 
service before the age of 18 or 20, he must have been, at the time he 
linked his fortunes to those of La Salle, about 35 or S7 years old — 
hence born, probably, about 1643-5." 

[27] 



28 Biographical Nate. 

and confidant^ of the Commander-in-Chief — in other 
words, a superintendent of such matters as pertained to the 
provisioning, sheltering, and general care and regulation 
of the interests and comfort of the settlers, both male and 
female, who formed a part of the expedition. 

His services to the enterprise of which he, fortunately, 
became the historian, as they are simply and circumstan- 
tially narrated in this Journal, and corroborated by con- 
temporary evidence, prove that La Salle's choice of him, 
as " the man of affairs " of the expedition was well-founded 
and fortunate. Practical, methodical, resourceful in every 
emergency, tactful in his dealings with all the members of 
the heterogeneous company with whom he was associated, 
and inflexibly loyal to his Chief, Joutel fully proved his 
worth. 

Twice, at least, his life was in danger, from the machina- 
tions of mutineers. The first time, the plot was discovered 
in time, and, having received an order to: join La Salle with 
all his force, he delivered the criminals to the latter. And 
again, being left in charge of the Fort St. Louis, with 34 
men, Joutel was disturbed by a plot to kill him or deprive 
him of his office — from which once more his life, which 
ultimately proved so valuable to- the party, was preserved. 

His Journal, here printed, is valuable from its exactness 
of detail, and the fact that, in many places, it corrects the 
careless or misleading statements of others, and it is re- 
markably free from the egotism which disfigures or weak- 
ens the narratives of some early travelers in America. 
Parkman, comparing it with other accounts written by sur- 
vivors of the expedition, says emphatically, " It gives the 
impression of sense, intelligence and candor, throughout." 

No shadow of complicity in the murder of La Salle at- 
taches to Joutel. That he did not more strongly assert him- 
self in the critical emergencies which succeeded that tragical 
event, was due, probably, to a combination of circumstances, 

1 " Intendant " is the official French term. 



Biographical Note. 29 

The mutineers who had accompHshed the deed were over- 
whelmingly dominant, and the Hves of the whole party trem- 
bled in the balance. Joutel was no coward ; but the situation 
in which they found themselves called for the exercise of 
that piiidence which is ofttimes the better part of valor. 
Neither was he ambitious, so that, when the little band of 
seven who sought to separate themselves from the assassins, 
finally started upon their long and perilous journey toward 
the North, we find, as if by common consent, that the Abbe 
Cavelier figures as the nominal leader. Undoubtedly, this 
was due partly to the respect felt by Joutel for the aged 
ecclesiastic by virtue of his sacred office, as well as by his 
own life-long association, at Rouen, with the family of 
Cavelier; and also by motives of policy in thus securing 
for the party the prestige of being headed by a La Salle — 
a " name to conjure with " amid the savage tribes through 
whom they must pass. 

Yet, undoubtedly, it was mainly to Joutel's prudence, 
courage, and practical knowledge that the little band of sur- 
vivors — after their marvelous journey of over 800 miles 
through trackless wilds, and amid innumerable dangers 
from flood, disease, and savages — finally reached Quebec, 
and ultimately their beloved France, in October, 1688. 

The motives previously alluded to as influencing Joutel m 
waiving his right to the leadership of the party, on its re- 
turn to civilization, may, probably, sufficiently account for 
(even if they do not fully condone) his connivance (as also 
that of Father Douay) in the concealment, for over two 
years, of the fact of La Salle's death — a deception un- 
doubtedly originating with the Abbe Cavalier, who desired 
thereby to get possession of property which might other- 
wise have been seized by creditors of his deceased brother 
the Sieur Robert La Salle, the explorer. Parkman says 
(note to p. 207, vol. ii. La Salle's Voyages, Champlain edi- 
tion) that " the prudent Abbe died rich and very old, at the 
home of a relative, having inherited a large estate after his 
return from America." 



30 Biographical Nate. 

Joutel appears to have spent the rest of his Hfe at Rouen, 
where Charlevoix says he saw him in 1723; and speaks of 
him as a very upright man, and evidently the only ti-ust- 
worthy member of La Salle's party. Of Joutel's Journal he 
also speaks in the same strain.^ 

1 His words are " un fort honnete homme, et seul delatroupe de 
M. dc La Salle, sur qui celebre voyageur put compter." 



JOURNAL 

Of. the Last 

VOYAGE 

Perform'd by 

Monfr. de la Sale, 

T*0 THE 
GULPH ofMEXICO, 

Toi find out the 
Mouth oixh^Mt/fz/zpl River; 

CONTAINING, 

An Account of the Settlements he endeavour'd to 
make on the Coaft of the aforefaid Bay^ his 
unfortunate Death, and the Travels of his 
Companions for the Space of Eight Hundred 
Leagues acrofs that Inland Country of Jmerica. 
now call'd Louifiana^ (and given by the King of 
France to M. Cro%at^ till they came into Canada. 



Written in French by Monfieur J o u T E L, 

A Commander in that Expedition-^ 
And TranJIaicd from the Edition ju ft fublifh' d at Paris. 



V/ith an exact Map of that vaft Country, and a Copy of the 
Letters Patents gTurdsd by the K.of France to M. Crozat. 

LONDON, Printed for J. Bell at the Crofs-Keys and 
Bible in Cornhill, B. Lintott at the Crofs Keys in Fleet- 
ftreet, and J, Baker in Pater-Nefter-Rozv, 1714. 




THE 



French Bookseller 



TO THE 



READER. 



The Manuscript of this Journal hapning to fall into my 
Hands, and having shewn it to some Persons well vers'd 
in these Affairs, they zvere of Opinion it desen/d to he 
printed; especially at this Time, zuhen travels are so much 
in Request, and in regard this is now seasonable, on Ac- 
count of the Description it gives of the famous River Mis- 
sisipi and of the Country of Louisiana, zvhere it is intended 
to make great Settlements. Besides, this Relation is un- 
common, curious and ingaging, both in Regard to the 
Honour and Advantage of the Nation, for as much as it 
contains the Attempts and the bold and gloriou^s Undertak- 
ings of our French Adventurers, who not satisfied, like 
others, with discovering the Borders and Coasts of un- 
known Countries, proceed to penetrate into the Inland, 
through a thousand Dangers and Hazards of their Lives. 
Is it not very commendable in them, to make us fully ac- 
3 [33] 



34 French Bookseller to Reader. 

quainted zvith that great remaining Part of the World, 
which for so many Ages continued unknoimi to our Fore- 
fathers, till about two hundred Years ago Christopher Co- 
lumbus discovered it, and Americus Vespusius going over 
soon after, gave it his Name, causing it to he call'd America? 
One of those whom I desired to peruse this Manuscript, has 
a little polish' d it, pursuant to the Orders I received; and he 
having been a considerable Traveller, was a proper Person 
to judge of and put it into a Dress iit to appear in publick. 
The Letter he writ to me, being not only instructive, in Re- 
lation to the Journal, but of Use as a curious Supplement to 
it, I thought the inserting of it woidd be acceptable. It is 
as follows. 

SIR, 

I Return you your Manuscript; the Reading of it has 
reviv'd the Satisfaction I once took in my Travels; it has 
oblig'd me to read over again those of several Persons, who 
have writ of Canada, and carry'd me in Imagination 
through those vast, barbarous and unknown Countries, 
with much more Ease and less Danger than was done by 
the Hero of this Relation. He certainly deserves that hon- 
ourable Title, and having read his Adventures, I could not 
forbear saying with the Poet 

I Hi robur & ces triplex 
Circa Pectus erat. 

For what an extraordinary Strength, what a Vigour of 
Body and Mind was requisite for him to project, to under- 
take and to go thro' with so unusual, so bold and so diffi- 
cult an Enterprize. A Discovery of above eight hundred 
Leagues of barbarous and unknown Countries, without any 
beaten Roads, without Towns, and without any of those 
Conveniencies, which render Travelling more easy in all 
other Parts. All the Land-Carriage is reduc'd to walking 
afoot; being often without any other Shoes but a Piece of 
a Bullock's Hide wrapp'd about the Feet; carrying a Fire- 



French Bookseller to Reader. 35 

lock, a Snapsack/ Tools and some Commodities to barter 
with the Natives. It is true that accidentally and but very 
rarely a Horse is found to help out a little. 

If they must venture upon the Water, there are only 
some wretched Canoes, made either of the Barks of Trees 
or of Bullocks Hides, and those they must often carry or 
drag along the Land, when the Falls of the Rivers obstruct 
making use of them. All the Bed is lying on the bare 
Ground, exposed to the Inclemencies of the Air, to be de- 
vour'd by Alligators and bit by Rattle Snakes; without 
Bread, Wine, Salt and all other Comforts of Life, and this 
for some Years. The Diet altogether consists in a poor 
Pap or Hasty-Pudding made of the Meal of Indian Corn, 
Fish half broil'd or ill boil'd, and some Beef or wild Goats 
Flesh, dry'd in the Air and Smoke. Besides, what a Trou- 
ble is it to invent Signs to be understood by so many sev- 
eral Nations, each of which has it's peculiar Language? 
All this an Adventurer must resolve with himself to go 
through, who designs to make Discoveries in Canada; and 
it would be hard to believe this, did not all those who write 
of it exactly agree in this Particular. 

However that Country is good and pleasant, at least to- 
wards the South, which is what is here spoken of. The 
Temparature of the Climate is admirable, the Soil excellent 
for Tillage, and it is extraordinary fertil in all Sorts of 
Grain and Fruit; which appears by those the Land pro- 
duces of it self in great Plenty. The Hills and Woods pro- 
duce Timber for all Uses and Fruit Trees, as well of cold 
as hot Countries. There are Vines which want but little 
Improvement; there are Sugar-Canes, large Meadows, and 
navigable Rivers full of Fish. It is true they are infested 
w^ith Alligators, but with a little Care they are to be 
avoided ; as may the Rattle-Snakes, which are extraordinary 
venomous, but never bite unless they are hurt. There are 
thousands of wild Bullocks, larger than ours, their Flesh 

1 Knapsack, in modern parlance. 



36 French Bookseller to Reader. 

good, and instead of Hair, they have a Sort of curl'd Wool 
extraordinary fine. There are Abundance of Deer, wild 
Goats and all Sorts of wild Fowl, and more especially of 
Turkeys. As there are Poisons and Venoms, so there are 
immediate and wonderful Antidotes. 

We must not look there for rich and stately Cities, or 
lofty Structures, or any of those Wonders of Architecture, 
or the Remains and ancient Monuments of the Vanity of 
great Men ; but we may there admire Nature in its beautiful 
Simplicity, as it came from the Hands of its Creator; with- 
out having been alter'd or depraved by Ambition or Art. 

But is so vast and so beautiful a Country only for Beasts, 
Birds and Fishes ! O inconceivable Wonder ! There is an 
infinite Number of People, divided into Nations, living in 
Cottages made of the Barks of Trees, or cover' d with Reeds 
or Hides, when they are not abroad at War, or Hunting, or 
Fishing, almost naked, without any other Bed but a Bul- 
lock's Hide, or any Houshold-Stuff but a Pot or Kettle, an 
Axe and some Platters made of Bark. They take their Sus- 
tenance, as it comes in their Way, and like the Beasts ; they 
have noi Care, do' not value Wealth, sing, dance, smoke, eat, 
sleep, hunt, fish ; are independant, make War, and when an 
Opportunity offers, take Revenge of any Injury in the most 
cruel Manner they are able. Such is the Life of those Sav- 
ages. Tho' there be some in the Southern Parts, not quite 
so stupid and brutal as those in the North, yet they are both 
Savages, who think of Nothing but what is present, love 
Nothing but what is obvious to the Senses, incapable of 
comprehending any Thing that is Spiritual ; sharp and inge- 
nious in what is for their own Advantage, without any 
Sense of Honour or Humanity; horribly cruel, perfectly 
united among themselves to their Nation and their Allies ; 
but revengeful and merciless towards their Enemies. To 
conclude, their Shape, tho' hideous, shews they are Men; 
but their Genius and Manners render them like the worst of 
Beasts. 



French Bookseller to Reader. 37 

A modern Author, who has liv'd in Canada, and in other La Ilon- 
Respects has writ well enough, has perhaps fancy'd, he might ^f'j^Xv-' 
distinguish himself, and be thought more understanding course 
than other Men in discovering the Genius of those People, ^^'^ ^herein 
by assigning more Ingenuity and Penetration to the Sav- he renders 
ages, than is generally allow'd them. He sometimes makes '"-^f-^^ji^^^^ 
them to argue toO' strongly and tooi subtilely against the 
Mysteries of Christian Religion, and his Relation has given 
just Occasion to suspect, that he is himself the Libertine and 
Talking Savage, to whom he has given the artful Malignity 
of his Notions and Arguments. 

As for the Genius of the Savages, I am of Opinion, we 
ought to believe the Missioners ; for they are not less capable 
than other Men to discover the Trtith, and they have at least 
as much Probity to make it known. It is likely, that they, 
who have for an hundred Years past, wholly apply' d them- 
selves, according to the Duty of their Function, to study 
those poor Images of Men, should not be acquainted with 
them ? Or would not their Conscience have check'd them, 
had they told a Lye in that Particular? Now all the Mis- 
sioners agree, that allowing there are some Barbarians less 
wicked and brutal than the rest; yet there are none good, 
nor thoroughly capable of such Things as are above the 
Reach of our Senses ; and that whatsoever they are, there is 
no relying on them ; there is always cause to suspect them, The Na- 
and in short, before a Savage can be made a Christian, it is j^^^ f^ 
requisite to make him a Man ; and we look upon those brutal. 
Savages as Men, who have neither King nor Law, and what 
is most deplorable, no God ; for if we rightly examine their 
Sentiments and their Actions, it does not appear that they 
have any Sort of Religion, or well form'd Notion of a Deity, 
If some of them, upon certain Occasions, do' sometimes own 
a First or Sovereign Being, or do pay some Veneration to 
the Sun. As tO' the first Article, they deliver themselves in 
such a confuse Manner, and with so many Contradictions 
and Extravagancies, that it plainly appears, the)^ neither 



38 French Bookseller to Reader. 

know nor believe anything of it ; and as for the second, it is 
only a bare Custom, without any serious Reflection on their 
Part. 

A miserable Nation, more void of the Light of Heaven, 
and even that of Nature, than so many other Nations in the 
East Indies, who, tho' brutal and stupid as to the Knowl- 
edge of the Deity, yet are not without some Sort of Wor- 
ship, and have their Hermits and Fakirs who endeavour by 
the Practice of horrid Penances, to gain the Favour of that 
Godhead, and thereby shew they have some real Notion of 
it. Nothing of that Sort is to be found among our Ameri- 
can Savages, and in Conclusion, it may be said of them in 
General, that they are a People without a God. 

Our French, who are born in Canada all of them well 
shap'd, and Men of Sense and Worth, cannot endure to 
have their Savages thus run down. They affirm they are 
like other Men, and only want Education and being im- 
prov'd ; but besides that we may believe they say so to save 
the Honour of their Country, we advance nothing here but 
what is grounded on the Report of many able and worthy 
Persons, who have writ of it, after being well inform' d on 
the Spot. We are therefore apt to believe, that there is a 
Distinction to be made at present between two Sorts of Sav- 
ages in Canada, viz. those who have been conversant among 
the Europeans for sixty or eighty Years past, and the others 
Avho are daily discover'd; and it is of the latter that we 
speak here more particularly, and to whom we assign all 
those odious and wretched Qualities of the Savages of 
North America; for it is well known, that the first Sort of 
them, as for Instance, the Hurons, the Algonqnins, the Iro- 
quois, the Illinois and perhaps some others are now pretty 
well civiliz'd, so that their Reason begins to clear up, and 
they may become capable of Instruction. 

Amazing and incomprehensible, but at the same Time 
adorable Disposition of Divine Providence! We see here 
a vast Tract of the Earth, of an immense Extent, of a won- 
derful Soil for Tillage and Fertility in all Sorts of Fruit 



French Bookseller to Reader. 39 

aiid Grain; of an admirable Temperature as to the Air, 
which appears by the very numerous Inhabitants being 
scarce subject to any Diseases, and in that the Sex, which 
among us is weak, is there Strong and Vigorous, bringing Strong 
forth their Children with little or no Pain, and suckling °^'^^^' 
them amidst Labour and Fatigues, without any of those 
Miseries they are liable to in our Countries. Yet that vast 
and beautiful Country, describ'd in this Journal, so much 
favour'd with Worldly Blessings, has been for so many 
Ages destitute of the Heavenly. 

The infinite Numbers of People inhabiting it are Men, 
and have scarce any thing but the Shape; they are God's 
Creatures, and do not so much as know, much less serve 
him. Those who have the Courage and Boldness to travell 
through the Countries of such Savages, and those who read 
the Relations of such Travellers, ought to take Care how 
they make any rash Reflections upon this Point, or pry too 
deeply into it; for they may chance to lose themselves in 
their Thoughts. The shortest and the safest Course is, in 
such Cases, to adore the inconceivable Profoundness of the 
Creator's Wisdom; to give a Check to all our Enquiries 
and Curiosities, with the Apostle's Exclamation, O the 
Depth of the Riches both of the Wisdom and Knowledge 
of God! How unsearchable are his Judgments and his 
Ways past finding, out! And never ceasing to return 
Thanks to his Goodness, for having so abundantly supply' d 
us with his Light and Grace, to conjure him to impart the 
same to those poor distress'd Americans^ and that he who 
is Almighty, will of those Stones make Children of Abra- 
ham. This all Christians are oblig'd incessantly to pray 
for, because as Brutish and Stupid as those Savages are, 
they are still our Brethren, since like us descended from 
Adam and Noah. 

How much are we then oblig'd to those bold Travellers, 
who undertake new Discoveries, who to the Hazard of their 
Lives, at their own Expence, and with such extraordinary 
Toils, go to find out for us, not only numerous Objects of 



40 French Bookseller to Reader. 

our Curiosity and Admiration, which were before unknown 
to us, but who also discover to us a numerous Kindred, 
which is not ever the less such, for having been so' long un- 
known to us. What if it be brutal and indocible, it will be 
the more Meritorious to Labour at Civilizing of and mak- 
ing it capable of receiving the Lights of Reason and of 
Faith. We can never sufficiently express our Gratitude to 
those who apply themselves to the making of new Discov- 
eries; the more Difficulties that attend them, the more we 
are beholding to those who undertake them. Supposing 
that Avarice, Ambition, a restless Temper, or a desperate 
Fortune, are very often the Occasions of such Undertak- 
ings ; yet God, who can draw Good out of Evil, makes all 
those Passions subservient to his Glory, and the Salvation 
of his Elect, and if long Travels do not commonly make 
Saints of the Travellers, it is their own Fault. However, 
they at least prepare the Way to the Sanctification of so 
many Barbarians, beating a Road for the Missioners, who 
go to instruct those People. Thus all the World is beholden 
to them ; the Savages for the Knowledge of God that is pro- 
cur'd them; and we for finding by their Means an infinite 
Number of People before unknown, who' will join with us 
in Serving and Glorifying the Creator of the Universe. 

Granting that the said Travellers are not sometimes ex- 
act, or agree among themselves in their Relations, their 
Descriptions and their Maps; this must be an unavoidable 
Fault in Discoverers; but even that is advantageous to the 
Publick, for as much as their Successors are excited to ex- 
amine those Points more strictly, to correct, explain and 
ascertain those Mistakes. 

In acknowledgment therefore of the Service done us by 
those Illustrious Adventurers and to make them some Sort 
of Amends for their Sufferings, let us transmit their Names 
to Posterity in our Writings; let us applaud their Actions 
when we read them, and let us commend their Relations. 
This here, most certainly deserves to be read and com- 
mended, for it is Curious, Extraordinary and Tragical. It 



French Bookseller to Reader. 41 

is also, as has been said before, ingaging, at this Conjunc- 
ture, when there is a Design of making Settlements in those 
Countries, it mentions, the Consequence whereof may be 
most Honourable and Advantageous to the Nation. The 
Travel thro' that Country is one of the greatest and most 
full of Difficulties that has been perform'd ; the Relation of 
it being made by an Eye Witness, and in a natural, plain 
and particular Manner, deserves to be credited; but being 
only a Journal, it is not capable of admitting of Ornaments 
or Embellishments. The Reader will be pleas'd to excuse 
the Repetition of the same Words in it, on Account of the 
Impossibility of doing otherwise, and will think it enough 
that the Barrenness of the Narration is made Amends for 
by the Curiosity of the Subjects. I am of Opinion the 
small Notes I have added will not be displeasing, because 
they explain some Particulars, which are not veiy intelligi- 
ble to such as are not us'd to read many Travels. 

After having said the Good and the Bad of this North 
America, mentioning the Beauty and Excellency of its Cli- 
mate and the Brutality of its People, and recited the infinite 
Hardships, those who design to travel must resolve to un- 
dergo, I am of Opinion it will be proper to say something 
of the late Monsieur de la Sale, who is the principal Person, 
and as it were, the Heroi of this Relation, tho' having been 
murdered by his own Men, he fell the unfortunate Victim 
of the Discovery here treated of. It is also convenient to 
make known what went before that, which is contain'd in 
this Journal, and the present happy Consequence of that 
fatal Enterprize. Here follows what I have of my own par- 
ticular Knowledge, and by what has been written. 

Robert Cavelier, commonly call'd Monsieur de la Sale, a. Account of 
Native of Roan, of a good Family, having been educated in ^^|"*s"^g 
Piety and Learning, went over very young into Canada and 
took Delight in Trade, but more in Projects of new Dis- 
coveries up the Inland of those vast Countries. Intending 
to settle there and make that his Country, he purchased an 
Habitation in the Island of Mont-real, where has been built 



42 French Bookseller to Reader. 

the second Town of Canada, sixty Leagues above Qiiebeck, 
which is the Capital, being also a Bishoprick, and the Resi- 
dence of the Governor, the Intendant and the supreme Coun- 
cil. There are but only those two Towns in the Country, 
besides some Villages. They are both seated on the great 
River of St. Laurence, which coming from the S. W. is 
form'd or increased by the Waters of five prodigious fresh 
Water Lakes, running out one into another, and through 
them it passes to run down to discharge itself in the Ocean, 
at a very spacious Mouth, making Way for the Ships that 
design to penetrate into Canada. 

Many Discoveries had been made to the Northward, 
before Monsieur de la Sale's Time; because there being 
Plenty of very good Furs, the Traders of Queheck and 
Mont-real, by Means of the Adventurers call'd Wood-Men,^ 
from their traveling thro' the Woods, had penetrated very 
far up the Country that Way; but none had advanc'd far 
towards the South or South- West, beyond Fort Frontenac, 
which is on the Lake Ontario, the nearest this Way of the 
five great Lakes. However, upon the Report of the 
Natives, it was supposed, that great and advantageous Dis- 
coveries might be made. There had been much Talk of the 
rich Mines of St. Barbara, in the Kingdom of Mexico, and 
some were tempted to give them a Visit. 

Something was known of the famous River Missisipi, 
which it was supposed might fall into the South Sea, and 
open a Way to it. These Conjectures working upon Mon- 
sieur de la Sale, who being zealous for the Honour of his 
His Char- Nation, designed to signalize the French Name, on Account 
ecter. q£ extraordinary Discovei-ies, beyond all that went before 

him ; he form'd the Design and resolv'd to put it in Execu- 
tion. He was certainly very fit for it, and succeeded at the 
Expense of his Life ; for no Man has done so much in that 
Way as he did for the Space of twenty Years he spent in 
that Employment. He was a Man of a regular Behaviour, 

1 Coureurs de bois. 



French Bookseller to Reader. 43 

of a large Soiil, well enough learned, and understanding in 
the Mathematicks, designing, bold, undaunted, dexterous, 
insinuating, not to be discourag'd at any Thing, ready at 
extricating himself out of any Difficulties, no Way appre- 
hensive of the greatest Fatigues, wonderful steady in Adver- 
sity, and what was of extraordinaiy Use, well enough 
versed in several Savage Languages. M. de la Sale having 
such extraordinary Talents, whereof he had given sufficient 
Proofs upon several Occasions, gain'd the Esteem of the 
Governors of Canada; and Messieurs de Courcelles, Talon 
and de Frontenac successively express' d the same, by often 
employing him in Affairs for the Honour and Advantage of 
the Colony. 

The Government of the Fort of Frontenac, which is the is made 
Place farthest advanc'd among the Savages, was committed Proprietor 
to him, and he going over into France, in the Year 1675, the Frontenac. 
King made him Proprietor of it, upon Condition he should 
put it into a better Condition than it was, which he did, as 
soon as return'd to Canada. Then came back again to Paris, 
full of the new Informations he had gain'd touching the 
River Missisipi, the Country runs through, the Mines, espe- 
cially those of Lead and Copper, the navigable Rivers, and 
the Trade that might be carried on of Furs and the fine 
Wooll of those wild Bullocks, whereof there are infinite 
Numbers in the Forests. Being also furnish'd with better 
Accounts of that Country, than the Fables that were then 
publish'd, by the Name of a Voyage of the Sieur Joliet, he 
was well receiv'd at Court, and dispatch'd with the neces- 
sary Orders for proceeding on his Discoveries. 

The great Reputation Monsieur de la Sale had gain'd, HisReputa- 
and his mighty Projects, occasion'd a Jealousy in some and ^<'" makes 
Envy in others. His own Countrymen thwarted his De- 
signs; but he surmounted all those Obstacles and return'd 
into Canada, about the Year 1678, with the Chevalier 
Tonty, an Italian Gentleman, a Person of Worth and that 
had serv'd, whom he gain'd to his Enterprize. He also 
pick'd up in the Country forty or fifty Persons fit for that 



44 French Bookseller to Reader. 

Expedition, and among them were three Recolets, whom he 
carry'd over to try what might be done as to Christianity 
among the Savages ; he was well acquainted with, and had 
a just Esteem for the Virtue, the Capacity and the Zeal of 
those good, religious Men, who alone first undertook the 
Mission into that new World, and who being seconded by 
others, have carry'd it on there, with so much Edification. 
Monsieur de la Sale having spent two Years in going 
and coming, still thwarted by those who envy'd him in the 
Country, to such a Degree, that had it not been for an 
Antidote, he must have dy'd of Poison given him by some 
Villains, could not order his Affairs and begin his Expedi- 
tion till the Year 1682. He set out at length, and tO' the 
End his Discovery of the Missisipi might be compleat, he 
caus'd Father Hennepin, a Recolet, with some others, to 
travel to the Northward, that they might find out the 

Source of Source of that River, and they found it, about the 50th 
Degree of North Latitude. For his own Fart, he pro- 
ceeded to the Westward and found the River of the Islinois, 

Ishnois which he call'd the River of Seignelay, and following its 

Course, came into the Missisipi, where the other discharges 
it self. He then concluded he had no more to do, but to 
run down to its Mouth, whether in the South Sea or the 
Gulph of Mexico. All along its Banks he found many 
Savage Nations, with whom, by Means of his Presents, he 
enter'd into Alliances, and gave the Country the Name of 
Louisiana, to honour the Name and Memory of our August 
Monarch, in whose Reign those Discoveries were made. 
At length, the Course of the Missisipi convey'd Monsieur 
de la Sale to its Mouths, as falling into the Gulph of Mexico 
in two Streams, and he arriv'd there in the Month of April 
1682 or 1683, fo'i" the Dates of those who have writ con- 
cerning it, make either of those Years. He stay'd there 
some Days, to take Observations and place some Marks 
, which he might know again, when he retum'd. Being sat- 
isfied with having found some Part of what he sought, he 
return'd the same Way he had gone, and came again to 



the Missi 
sipi 



French Bookseller to Reader. 45 

Quebeck in Canada, in order to go over to France, and 
thence to make a Tryal tO' find that Mouth of the Missisipi 
by the Gulph of Mexico, which he had ah-eady discover'd by 
the Way of Canada, and to secure it; for he thought it 
much more advantageous to know it by the Way of the Sea, 
than to go thither by Land, because the Voyage through 
Canada is much longer and more troublesome, and can be 
perform'd but once a Year, whereas by the Way of the Bay 
of Mexico it is not longer, but is much more commodious, 
and may be perform'd in all Seasons, either going or com- 
ing. He was also sensible that the said Mouth being once 
discover'd by Sea, afforded an easier and safer Communica- 
tion with Canada, running up that noble River, the Naviga- 
tion whereof is not interrupted by Falls, nor Torrents for 
above sixty Leagues towards its Source. 

These Considerations mov'd Monsieur de la Sale to take 
another Voyage into France, where his Expedition having 
been commended and his new Project appro v'd of, the King 
order'd him Vessels to return and carry on his Enterprize, 
the Particulars whereof are to be found in this Journal. 
That Affair, so well begun, secrn'd to promise very advan- 
tageous Consequences ; but it miscarried through the Per- 
fidiousness and Villany of that noble Adventurer's own 
People. 

This is what I have judg'd might serve as an Introduc- The other 
tion to your Journal, if it shall not be thought to dishonour -P^''^ .^^^ff 

1 • 1 r 1 -IT 1 1 ,f 1-1 tnention d 

it, you may place it before t!ie said Journal, and that which is at the 
follows at the End of it, which will shew how far that great ^^^ of ^/j^ 
Enterprize of the Discovery of the Missisipi has been 



THE 

PREFACE. 

Written by 

Sieur de MITCHELL, 

Who Methodiz'd this Journal. 



Notwithstanding the late Monsieur de la Sale's Voyage 
had a most unfortunate End, as to his own Person, yet that 
will not hinder Posterity, from ever allowing him the Title 
of a most renowned Traveller. 

The History of his Enterprise zvill be acceptable to future 
Ages, for laying before them, the extraordinary Genius, 
the invincible Courage, and the undaunted Resolution of 
such a Man, who could contrive and execute the Means for 
discovering the remaining Part of the World. 

And in regard that the Particidars of the Discozrery of 
those large and immense Provinces, will ahvays be the 
Object of curious and understanding Persons, it is not to 
be zvonder'd, that after zuhat has been zwit by Father Hen- 
nepin, a Recolet, the Chevalier Tonty and some others, we 
here nozv publish an Historical Journal of the last Voyage 

[47] 



48 Preface by Sieur de Mitchell. 

Monsieur de la Sale undertook into the Gulf of Mexico, to 
the Country of Louisiana, to finish what he had projected at 
his former Voyage, had not the Treachery of his own Men 
cut him off. 

This Journal of Monsieur Joutel, whereof Monsieur 
Tonty makes mention in the Book that ha^ been printed of 
the last Discoveries in America, Folio 319, has this peculiar, 
that it exactly contains wJtat hapned to Monsieur de la Sale, 
Day by Day, in that fatal Voyage, since his Departure from 
Rochelle to his death, and till the Return of his Brother 
Monsieur Cavelier the Priest, Monsieur Cavelier his 
Nephew, the Reverend Father Anastasius, the Recolet, and 
the said Sieur Joutel, who in Order to return to France, 
took that long Journey by Land, from the Gidf of Mexico 
to Canada, being a Tract of above 800 Leagues. 

Many Adventures of all Sorts, most of which are 
Tragical, will please the curious Reader; and above all he 
will admire the Protection of Divine Providence, in Con- 
ducting and Preserving that small Company throughout 
those vast Regions, and among so many barbarous Nations. 

We do not here pretend to Criticise upon the Work of 
Father Hennepin, or that of Monsieur Tonty ; but even their 
own Favourers cannot take it ill, that this Author does not 
sometimes say as they do; that he plainly delivers what he 
saw, and that he exposes to publick View all the Truths he 
was an Eye Witness to, without magnifying or inventing. 

It is nevertheless true, that they may be all excus'd as to 
some Particulars; Father Hennepin and Monsieur Tonty 
may have seen some Things, that did not come to tJw 
Knowledge of Monsieur Joutel ; but there is a Fact of great 
Consequence in the History of Monsieur de la Sale, zvhich 
must not be pass'd over in Silence. 

It is, that Monsieur Tonty, in his Book affirms, that Mon- 
sieur de la Sale at length found the Mouth of the Missisipi, 
and Monsieur Joutel asserts the contrary, and says, that is 
so far from being true, that during his last Progress tozvards 
the Cenis, when the said Sieur Joutel was with him, and had 



Preface by Sieur de Mitchell. 49 

ncz'cr been parted, Monsieur de la Sale'.f principal Care was 
to enquire of all the Nations they pass'd through, where 
the Missisipi zvas, and coidd never hear any thing of it; that 
this is ezfidently made out, becatise if Monsieur de la Sale 
had found the Mouth of that River, he woidd infallibly 
have taken another Way, and other Measures, and all the 
Appearances are on this Side, as may be seen in this 
Relation. 

However, this must be said in Behalf of Monsieur Tonty, 
that he delivered it upon the Report of Monsieur Cavelier 
the Priest, and Brother to Monsieur de la Sale ; which Mon- 
sieur Cavelier might haz>e Reasons to give out they had dis- 
covered the Missisipi, upon the same Viezvs as oblig'd him 
to conceal his Brother's Death. 

Now in regard we shall see Monsieur de la Sale, for some 
time ranging along the Coasts of North America, to iind 
out the Mouth of that River, it zvill be proper to inform 
those who have not seen his Urst Voyage, and shew them 
how it hapned that his Search proz/d in vain, and he was] 
obliged to land in another Place. 

After Monsieur de la Sale had discover' d that vast Con- 
tinent, which is a Part of North America, from Canada, by 
the Way of Montreal, going up the River of St. Laurence, 
then through the Country of the Iroquois, the Islinois and 
others, all zvhich he calVd Louisiana, his Design was to iind 
a shorter and a safer Way, than that he had Travell'd by 
Land. 

For this Reason it was, that having upon his Urst Dis- 
covery found the great River, call'd by the Barbaricms Mis- 
sisipi or Mechasipi, according to Father Hennepin, and to 
zvhich he gave the Name of Colbert, guessing by its Course 
that it fell into the Bay of Mexico, he resolz/d zvith himself 
to -find out the Mouth of it. 

In short, he ran down that River, zvith more Danger 

and Toil than can be imagined, found it parted inta two 

Streams and follozv'd that which was most to the North- 

zvard, to the Place zvhere it is lost in the Sea. He took the 

4 



50 Preface by Sieur de Mitchell. 

Latitude that Mouth lay in, and found it was between 28 
and 29 Degrees North, as Monsieur Toutel affirms he heard 
him say. He left Marks there, return' d the sam£ Way to 
Canada and thence into France, well pleased with his Dis- 
covery, which zuould have been very glorious, had he suc- 
ceeded in his second Voyage. 

But whether he did not take his Measures right, when 
he made his Observations ashore, or whether that River dis- 
gorges it self at a flat Coast, and only leaves some incon- 
siderable Mark of its Channel for such as come by Sea; it 
is most certain, that when he came into the Bay of Mexico, 
he sought for the same Mouth in Vain, during the Space 
of three Weeks, and was oblig'd to go ashore to the S. W. 
of the Place, where it really was. 

Monsieur Tonty, in his Book, Fol. 192, tells us, that he 
was present when Monsieur de la Sale took the Latitude of 
the Mouth of the Missisipi, at his first Voyage, and says it 
was between twenty two and twenty three Degrees North; 
but that is a Mistake, which must be assigned either to the 
Printer, or Transcriber, for in the Map the said Monsieur 
Tonty has added to his Book, he places the said Mouth in 
about twenty six Degrees and a Half of North Latitude, 
and there is Reason to believe he errs in that too. 

Monsieur Joiitel and some others are of Opinion, that 
the Mouth of that Branch Monsieur de la Sale went doimi, 
is in the Bay of the Holy Ghost, and actually between the 
twenty eighth and twenty ninth Degrees of North Latitude, 
as Monsieur de la Sale found it. As for the other Chan- 
nel, the same Sieur Joutel believes it is farther towards the 
S. W. and about the Shoals they met with about the 6th of 
January, 1685, between the twenty seventh and twenty 
eighth Degrees of North Latitude, when they zvere sailing 
along the Coast of the Bay of Mexico, and that those Shoals 
were the Marks of a River discharging it self there, ivhich 
they neglected to inquire into. If that be so; Monsieur de 
la Sale zvas very near it, and even pass'd along before both 



Preface by Sieitr de Mitchell. 51 

the Mouths, hut unfortunately, without perceiving them, 
zvhich zi'as the main Cause of his Death and the Ruin of his 
Enterprise. 

To conclude, it must be granted, that as the Return of 
tlmt small Number of Persons from a Country so remote 
and through so many Dangers, is a visible Effect of the 
Divine Protection; so it is also an Effect of Heavenly Jus- 
tice to have preserved those Witnesses, and to have brought 
them Home into Monsieur de la Sale'^ Country, to retrieve 
his Reputation, which had been sidly'd by his Enemies. 

Monsieur de la Sale would have been taken for a 
Dreamer, and even for an Impostor; his Enterprise had 
been condemned, and his Memory blasted; but God woidd 
not permit the Honour of a Man of such singular Merit 
to suffer; it pleas'd him' to preserve and bring Home un- 
questionable Witnesses, who, by Word of Mouth and other 
undoubted Proofs of the notable Discoveries made by Mon- 
sieur de la Sale, have stopped the Mouths of his Enemies, 
and made out the Truth of what has been asserted at the 
Beginning of this Discourse, viz. that Monsieur de la Sale 
only wanted good Fortune to secure him the Title of a great 
Man and a renowned Traveller. 




52 Advertisement. 

Advertifement, ^o the British Gentry. 

Whereas all Gentlemen ought to fit themselves betimes for those 
Employments which naturally fall to their Share, preferable to their 
Fellow Subjects; and that they who design in particular to serve their 
Prince Abroad, are obliged to understand the Interests and Pre- 
tentions of Foreign States, as well as the Laws and Constitution of 
their own Country: It has been judg'd very serviceable, by Persons 
of great Experience, to have the most celebrated Monsieur Wicque- 
fort's Ambassador translated into the English Tongue, as being the 
only Book that perfectly exhausts this Matter, little being written 
on the Subject by other Nations in Comparison of the Italians, whose 
Books are too defective and abstracted for common Practice. Pro- 
posals will shortly be published, for printing the said Book by Sub- 
scription, by the Undertaker Bernard Lintott between the two Temple- 
Gates. 

The Tragedy of Jane Shore, written in Shakespear's Style, by 
Nicholas Row Esq ; as it is acted at the Queen's Theatre in the Hay- 
Market, pr. I s. 6 d. 

The Rape of the Lock, an heroick comical Poem, in 5 Canto's, with 
6 Copper Plates, by Mr. Pope. pr. i s. 

The Works of Monsieur de Moliere, translated, in 6 Vols. 12s. 
printed on fine Paper and new Elziver Letter. 

The Clergy-man's Recreation, shewing the Pleasure and Profit of 
the Art of Gard'ning. By John Lawrence. A. M. Rector of Yelvertost 
in Northamptonshire, and sometime Fellow of Clare-Hall in Cam- 
bridge. 

Miscellaneous Poems and Translations by several Hands, particu- 
larly, the first Book of Statius his Thebais translated. The Fable of 
Vertumnus and Pomoua, from the 14th Book of Ovid's Metamorphosis. 
To a young Lady; with the Works of Voiture. On Silence. To the 
Author of a Poem entitled Successio. The Rape of the Lock. An 
Ode for Musick on St. Cecilia's Day. Windsor Forest. To the Right 
Honourable George Ld. Lansdown. An Essay on Criticism. An 
Epigram upon Two or Three. All written by Mr. Pope. 



AN 

Historical Journal 

OF TH E 

Late Monfieur de la Sales 

LAST 

VOYAGE 

INTO 

North America 

To Difcover the 

River MISSISIPL 

At the Time wheii Monsieur de la Sale was preparing n is Mr. 
for his last Vo)'^age into North America, I happen' d to be Joutel 
at Roan, the Place where he and I were both born, being ,;„ f^i^ 
retum'd from the Army, where I had serv'd sixteen or sev- Journal. 
enteen Years. 

The Reputation gain'd by Monsieur de la Sale, the Great- 
ness of his Undertaking, the Natural Curiosity which all 
men are possess'd with, and my Acquaintance with his 
Kindred, and with several of the Inhabitants of that City, 

[53] 



54 



Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



Departure 
from Ro- 
chel. 



July 1684 who were to bear him Company, easily prevail'd with me 
" to make one of the Number, and I was admitted as a vol- 
imtier. 

Our Rendezvous was appointed at Rachel, where we 
were to imbark. Messieurs Caveiier, the one Brother, the 
other Nephew to Monsieur de la Sale,^ Messieurs Chede- 
ville, Plantero^e, Thihault, Ory, some others and I, repair'd 
thither in Jidy 1684. 

Monsieur de la Sale having provided all Things neces- 
sary for his Voyage, surmounted all the Difficulties laid in 
his Way by several ill-minded Persons, and receiv'd his 
Orders from Monsieur Arnoult, the Intendant at Rachel, 
pursuant to those he had receiv'd from the King, we sail'd 
on the 24th of July, 1684,^ being twenty four Vessels, four 
of them for our Voyage, and the others for the Islands and 
Canada. 

The four Vessels appointed for Monsieur de la Sale's 
Enterprize, had on Board about two hundred and eighty 
persons, including the Crews ; of which Number there were 
one hundred Soldiers, with their Officers, one Talan, with 
his Canada Family, about thirty Voluntiers, some young 
Women, and the rest hired People and Workmen of all 
Sorts, requisite for making of a Settlement. 
Ships. The first of the four Vessels was a Man of War, call'd 

le Jaly, of about thirty six or forty Guns, commanded by 
Monsieur de Beaujeu, on which Monsieur de la Sale, his 
Brother the Priest, two' Recolet Fryars, Messieurs Dainma- 
ville and Chedeville, Priests, and I imbark'd. The next 
was a little Frigate, carrying six Guns, which the King had 
given to Monsieur de la Sale, commanded by two Masters ; 
a Flyboat of about three hundred Tuns Burden, belonging 
to the Sieur Massiot, Merchant at Rachel, commanded by 



Persons 
that went. 



1 The Fr. reads thus, " I'um frere & les autres neveus de . . ." — 
the one a brother of M. de La Salle, the others his nephews. There 
evidently were two nephews, named Cavalier — the name of La Salle's 
family; although in this journal the elder nephew is generally styled 
M. Moranget. 

2 Cavalier gives the date as 23d or 24th July. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 55 

the Sieiir Aigron, and laden with all the Effects Monsieur Aug. 1684 
de la Sale had thought necessary for his Settlement, and a 
small Ketch, on which Monsieur de la Sale had imbark'd 
thirty Tims of Ammunition, and some Commodities de- 
sign'd for Santo Domingo} 

All the Fleet, being under the Command of Monsieur de 
BeaujeUj was order'd to keep together as far as Cape Finis- 
terre, whence each was to follow his own Course; but this 
was prevented by an unexpected Accident. We were come 
into 45 Degrees 23 Minutes of North Latitude, and about 
50 Leagues from Rochel, when the Boltsprit of our Ship, 
the Joly, on a sudden, broke short, which oblig'd us to 
strike all our other Sails, and cut all the Rigging the broken Boltsprit 
Boltsprit hung by. lost. 

Every man reflected on this Accident according to his 
Inclination. Some were of Opinion it was a Contrivance ; 
and it was debated in Council, Whether we should proceed 
to Portugal, or return to Rochel, or Rochfort; but the latter Return to 
Resolution prevail'd. The other Ships design'd for the Rochfort. 
Islands and Canada, parted from us, and held on their 
Course. We made back for the River of Rochfort, whither 
the other three Vessels follow'd us, and a Boat was sent in, 
to acquaint the Intendant with this Accident. The Boat 
returned some Hours after, towing along a Boltsprit, which 
was soon set in its Place, and after Monsieur de la Sale had 
confer d with the Intendant, he left that Place on the first of 
August, 1684. 

We sail'd again, steering W. and by S. and on the 8th Cape Fi- 
of the same Month weather'd Cape Finisterre, which is in 
43 Degrees of North Latitude, without meeting any Thing 
remarkable. The 12th, we were in the Latitude of Lisbon, 
or about 39 Degrees North. The i6th, we were in 36 De- 
grees, the Latitude of the Streights, and the 20th, discov- 
er'd the Island Madera, which is in 32 Degrees, and where Madera. 

1 Fr. " 30 tonneux des Munitiens ou Marchandises, qui estoit fretee 
pour S. Domingae " — thirty casks of munitions or commodities which 
were intended for Santo Domingo. 



56 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Aug. 1684 Monsieur de Beaujeu propos'd to Monsieur de la Sale to 

anchor, and take in Water and some Refreshments. 
Difference Monsieur de la Sale was not of that Mind, on Account 
^C^mm-^^ that we had been but twenty one Days from France, had 
ders. sufficient Store of Water, ought to have taken aboard Re- 

freshments enough, and it would be a Loss of eight or ten 
Days^ to no Purpose ; besides, that our Enterprize required 
Secrecy, whereas the Spaniards might get some Informa- 
tion, by Means of the People of that Island, which was not 
agreeable to the King's Intention. 

This Answer was not acceptable to Monsieur de Beaujeu, 
or the other Officers, nor even to the Ships Crew, who mut- 
ter'd at it very much, and it went so far, that a Passenger, 
call'd Paget, a Hugonet of Rochel, had the Insolence to 
talk to Monsieur de la Sale in a very passionate and disre- 
spectful Manner, so that he was fain to make his Complaint 
to Monsieur de Beaujeu, and ask of him. Whether he had 
given any Incouragement to such a Fellow to talk to him 
after that Manner. Monsieur Beaujeu made him no Sat- 
isfaction. These Misunderstandings, with some others 
which happen'd before, being no Way advantageous to his 
Majesty's Service, laid the Foundation of^ those tragical 
Events, which afterwards put an unhappy End to Mon- 
sieur t/^^ la Sale's Life and Undertaking, and occasion'd our 
Ruin. 
Flying However, it was resolv'd not to come to an Anchor at 

Fish. that Island, whereupon Monsieur de Beaujeu said. That 

since it was so, we should put in no where but at the Island 
of Santo Domingo. We held on our Course, weather'd the 
Island of Madera, and began to see those little flying 
Fishes, which to escape the Dorados, or Gilt-Heads, that 
pursue them, leap out of the Water, take a little Flight of 
about a Pistol Shot, and then fall again into the Sea, but 

^Fr. "sept ou huit jours." — seven or eight days. 
2 Fr. " furent les secrettes semences, que . . ." — which were the 
hidden seeds, which "... 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 57 

very often into Ships, as they are saiHng by. That Fish Sept. 1684 
is about as big as a Herring, and very good to eat. 

On the 24th, we came into the Trade Wind, which con- Trade 
tinually blows from East to West, and is therefore call'd J^'"^- 
by some Authors Vent us suhsolanus, because it follows the 
Motion of the Sun. The 28th, we were in 27 Degrees 44 
Minutes^ of North Latitude, and in 344 of Longitude. The 
30th, we had a Storm, which continu'd violent for two 
Days, but being right astern of us, we only lost Sight of the 
Ketch, for want of good Steering, but she join'd us again 
a few Days after. 

The 6th of September, we were under the Tropic of 
Cancer, in 23 Degrees 30 Minutes of North Latitude and 
319 of Longitude. There Mons. de la Sale's Obstructing 
the Ceremony the Sailors call Ducking, gave them Occa- Ducking. 
sion to mutter again, and render' d himself privately odious. 
So many have given an Account of the Nature of that 
Folly, that it would be needless to repeat it here; it may 
suffice to say, that there are three things to authorize it, 
I. Custom. 2. The Oath administer'd to those who are 
duck'd, which is to this Efifect, That they will not permit 
any to pass the Tropics or the Line, zvithout obliging them 
to the same Ceremony. And 3, which is the most pre- 
vailing Argument, the Interest accruing to the Sailors upon 
that Occasion, by the Refreshments, Liquors or Money 
given them by the Passengers to be excus'd from that Cere- 
mony. 

Monsr. de la Sale, being inform'd that all Things were 
preparing for that Impertinent Cereinony of Ducking, and 
that a Tub full of Water was ready on the Deck (the 
French Duck in a great Cask of Water, the English in the 
Sea, letting down the Person at the Yard Arm)^ sent 
Word, that he would not allow such as were under his Com- 



1 French original reads " 45 minutes." 

2 The parenthesis does not appear in the French original. 



58 



Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



Sept. 1684 



Hispaniola 
Island. 



Sombrero 
Island. 



mand to be subject to that Folly, which being told to Monsr. 
de Beaujeu, he forbid putting of it in Execution, to the 
great Dissatisfaction of the inferior Officers and Sailors, 
who expected a considerable Sum of Money and Quantity 
of Refreshments, or Liquors, because there were many Per- 
sons to Duck, and all the Blame was laid upon Monsr. 
de la Sale. 

On the nth of September, we were in the Latitude of 
the Island of Santa Domingo, or Hispaniola, being 20 
Degrees North, and the Longitude of 320 Degrees. We 
steer'd our Course West, but the Wind flatting, the ensuing 
Calm quite stopp'd our Way. That same Day Monsr. 
Dainmaville, the Priest,^ went aboard the Bark la Belle, 
to administer the Sacraments to a Gunner, who died a few 
Days after. Monsr. de la Sale went to see him, and I bore 
him Company. 

The 2ist,^ the Ketch, which we had before lost sight of, 
join'd us again; and some Complaints being made to 
Monsr. de la Sale, by several private Persons that were 
aboard the Flyboat, he order'd me to go thither to accom- 
odate those Differences, which were occasion'd only by 
some Jealousies among them. 

The 1 6th, we sail'd by the Island Sombrero, and the 
1 8th had hard blowing Weather, which made us apprehen- 
sive of a Hurracan. The foul Weather lasted two Days, 
during which Time, we kept under a main Course and lost 
Sight of the other Vessels. 

A Council was call'd aboard our Ship, the Joly, to con- 
sider whether we should lie by for the others, or hold on 
our Course, and it was resolv'd, that, considering our Water 
began to fall short, and there were above five Persons^ sick 
aboard, of which Number Monsr. de la Sale and the Sur- 



1 In the original Fr. " the missionary priest." 

2 In the original " Le 12 " — the twelfth. 

5 The French original says " plus de malades "- 
sick people. 



■i. e. more than so 



IhIo north AMERICA. 59 

geon* were, we should make all the Sail we could, to reach Sept. 1684 
the first Port^ of the Island Hispaniola, being that call'd 
Port de Paix, or Port Peace, which Resolution was accord- 
ingly register'd. 

The 20th, we discover'd the first Land of Hispaniola, 
being Cape Saniana, lying in 19 Degrees of North Latitude, Cape Sa- 
and of Longitude 308. The 25th we should have put into "1^"^- 
Port de Paix, as had been concerted, and it was not only the 
most convenient Place for us to get Refreshments, but also 
the Residence of Moiisr. de Ciissy, Governor of the Island 
Tortuga, who knew that Monsr. de la Sale carried particu- 
lar Orders for him to furnish such Necessaries as he stood 
in Need of. 

Notwithstanding these cogent Reasons, Mr. de Beaujeu 
was positive to pass further on in the Night, weathering 
the Island Tortuga, which is some Leagues distant from Tortuga 
Port de Paix and the Coast of Hispaniola. He also pass'd Island. 
Cape St. Nicolas, and the 26th^ of the said Month, we put 
into the Bay of J a guana, coasting the Island Guanabo, which 
is in the Middle of that Great Bay or Gulph, and in Con- 
clusion, on the 27th we arriv'd at Petit Gouave, having spent 
58 Days in our Passage from the Port of Chef de Bois, near 
Rochel. 

This Change of the Place for our little Squadron to put 
into, for which no Reason could be given, prov'd very disad- 
vantageous; and it will hereafter appear, as I have before 
observ'd, that those misunderstanding among the Officers 
insensibly drew on the Causes from whence our Misfortune 
proceeded. 

As soon as we had dropt Anchor, a Piragua, or great Sort 
of Canoe, came out from the Place, with Twenty Men, to 
know who we were, and hail'd us. Being inform'd that we 
were French, they acquainted us, that Monsieur de Cussy 

^ Fr. " les chirurgions " — the surgeons. 
2Tr. "Francois" — the first French port 
3 Should be, as in the Fr. " i6th." 



6o Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Oct. 1684. was at Port de Paix with the Marquis de St. Laurent, Lieu- 
tenant General of the American Islands, and Monsieur 
Begon the Intendant, which very much troubled Monsieur 
de la Sale, as having Affairs of the utmost Consequence to 
concert with them; but there was no remedy, and he was 
oblig'd to bear it with Patience. 

The next Day, being the 28th. we sang Te Deum, in 
Thanksgiving for our prosperous Passage. Monsieur de la 
Sale being somewhat recover'd of his Indisposition, went 
Ashore with several of the Gentlemen of his Retinue, to buy 
some Refreshments for the Sick, and to find Means to send 
Notice of his Arrival, to Messieurs de St. Laurent, de Cussy, 
and Begon, and signify to them, how much he was con- 
cern'd that we had not put into Port de Paix. He writ par- 
ticularly to Monsieur de Cussy, to desire he would come to 
him, if possible, that he might be assisting to him, and take 
the necessary Measures for rendering his Enterprize success- 
ful, that it might prove to the King's Honour and Service. 

In the mean Time, the Sick suffering very much Aboard 
the Ships,^ by Reason of the Heat, and their being too close 
together, the Soldiers were put Ashore, on a little Island, 
near Petit Gouaves, which is the usual Burial-Place of the 
People of the pretended Reformed Religion,^ where they had 
fresh Provisions, and Bread baked on Purpose, distributed 
to them. As for the Sick, I was order'd by Monsieur de la 
Sale, to provide a House for them, whither they were 
carry'd, with the Surgeons, and supply'd with all that was 
requisite for them. 

Some Days after. Monsieur de la Sale fell dangerously 
ill, most of his Family were also sick. A violent Fever, 
attended with Lightheadedness, brought him almost to Ex- 
tremity. The Posture of his Affairs, Want of Money, and 
the Weight of a mighty Enterprize, without knowing whom 
to trust with the Execution of it, made him still more sick 

1 Should be " ship." 

2 In the Fr. " la Religion P. R." 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 6i 

in Mind, than he was in his Body, and yet his Patience and Nov. 1684 



Resolution surmounted all those Difficulties. He pitch' d 
upon Monsieur le Gros and me to act for him, caus'd some 
Commodities he had Aboard the Ships to be sold, to raise 
Money; and through our Care, and the excellent Constitu- 
tion of his Body, he recover'd Health. 

Whilst he was in that Condition, two of our Ships, which 
had been separated from us on the i8th of September, by 
the stormy Winds, arriv'd at Petit Gouazfe on the 2d of 
October. The Joy conceiv'd on Account of their Arrival, 
was much allay' d by the News they brought of the Loss of 
the Ketch, taken by two Spanish Piraguas ; and that Loss Ketch taken 
was the more grievous, because that V^sel was laden with ^^paniards 
Provisions, Ammunition, Utensils and proper Tools for the 
setling of our new Colonies ; a Misfortune which would not 
have happen'd, had Monsieur de Beaujeu put into Port de 
Paix, and Messieurs de St. Laurent^ de Cussy, and Begon 
who arrived at the same Time, to see Monsieur de la Sale 
did not spare to signify as much to him, and to complain 
of that Miscarriage. 

Monsieur de la Sale being recover'd had several Confer- 
ences with these Gentlemen, relating to his Voyage. A 
Consult of Pilots was called to resolve where he should touch 
before we came upon the Coast of America, and it was re- 
solved to steer directly for the Western Point of the Island 
of Cuba, or for Cape St. Antony, distant about 300 
Leagues from Hispaniola, there to expect the proper Season, 
and a fair Wind to enter the Gulph or Bay, which is but 
Two hundred Leagues over. 

The next Care was to lay in Store of other Provisions, 
in the Room of those which were lost, and Monsieur de la 
Sale was the more pressing for us to imbark, because most 
of his Men deserted, or were debauch'd by the Inhabitants of 
the Place ; and the Vessel call'd /' Aimable, being the worst 
Sailer of our little Squadron, it was resolv'd that should 
carry the Light, and the others to follow it. Monsieur 



62 



Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



Dec. 1684 



Cayman 
Island. 



Island of 
Pines. 



Alligator 
eaten. 



de la Sale, Monsieur Cavelier his Brother, the Fathers 
Zenobrius^ and Anastasius, both Recolets, Monsieur Chede- 
ville and I imbark'd on the said Aimahle and all sail'd the 
25th of November. 

We met with some Calms, and some violent Winds, 
which nevertheless carry'd us in Sight of the Island of 
Cuba, on the 30th of the same Month, and it then bore from 
us A^. W. There we alter' d our Course and steer' d W. 
and by N. The 31st, the Weather being somewhat close, 
we lost Sight of that Island, then stood W. N. W. and the 
Sky clearing up, made an Observation at Noon, and found 
we were in 19 Degrees, 45 Minutes of North Latitude; by 
which we judg'd that the Currents had carry'd us off to 
Sea from the Island of Cuba. 

On the first of December we discovered the Island Cay- 
man. The 2d we steer'd N. W. and by W. in order to 
come up with the Island of Cuba in the Northern Latitude 
of 20 Degrees 32 Minutes. The 3d we discovered the 
little Island of Pines, lying close to Cuba. The 4th, we 
weather'd a Point of that Island, and the Wind growing 
scant, were forc'd to ply upon a Bowling, and make several 
Trips till the 5th at Night, when we anchor'd in a Creek, 
in 15 Fathom Water, and continued there till the 8th. 

During that short Stay, Monsieur de la Sale went Ashore 
with several Gentlemen of his Retinue on the Island of 
Pines, shot an Alligator dead, and returning Aboard, per- 
ceiv'd he had lost two of his Voluntiers, who had wander'd 
into the Woods, and perhaps lost their Way. We fired 
several Musquet Shots to call them, which they did not 
hear, and I was order'd to expect them ashore, with 30 
Musquetiers to attend me. They return' d the next Morn- 
ing with much Trouble. 

In the mean Time, our Soldiers, who^ had good Stomachs, 
boil'd and eat the Alligator, Monsieur de la Sale had kill'd. 
The flesh of it was white and had a Taste of Musk, for 



1 Fr. " Zenobe," — Zenobius. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 63 

which Reason I could not eat it. One of our Hunters Dec. 1684 
kiird a wild Swine, which the Inhabitants of those Islands 'j^^ 
call Mar on. There are of them in the Island of Santo Szvine. 
Domingo, or Hispaniola, they are of the Breed of those the 
Spaniards left in the Islands when they first discoverM 
them, and nm wild in the Woods, I sent it to Monsieur 
de la Sale, who presented the one Half to Monsieur de 
Beaujeu. 

That Island is all over very thick wooded, the Trees island of 
being of several Sorts, and some of them bear a Fruit Pines, 
resembling the Acorn, but harder. There are Abundance 
of Parrots, larger than those at Petit Gouave, sl great Num- 
ber of Turtle Doves and other Birds, and a Sort of Crea- 
tures resembling a Rat, but as big as a Cat, their Hair 
reddish. Our Men kill'd many of them and fed heartily 
on them, as they did on a good Quantity of Fish, where- 
with that Coast abounds. 

We imbark'd again, as soon as the two Men who had 
stray'd were return'd, and on the 8th; being the Feast of 
the Conception of the Blessed Virgin, sail'd in the Morning, 
after having heard Mass, and the Wind shifting were 
forc'd to steer several Courses. The 9th we discover'd 
Cape Corrientes, of the Island of Cuba; where we were 
first becalm'd; and then follow'd a stormy Wind, which 
carried us away five Leagues to the Eastward. The loth 
we spent the Night, making several Trips. The nth, the 
Wind coming about, v/e weather' d Cape Corrientes, to make The Capes 
that of St. Antony ; and at length, after plying a consider- ^^^'o^*^^ 
able Time, and sounding, we came to an Anchor the 12th, Antony, 
upon good Ground, in fifteen Fathom Water, in the Creek 
form'd by that Cape, which is in 22 Degrees of North Lati- 
tude and 288 Degrees 35 Minutes of Longitude. 

We stay'd there only till next Day, being the I3tli,^ when 
the Wind seem'd to be favourable to enter upon the Bay of 
Mexico. We made ready and sail'd, steering N. W. and 

1 Corrects the Fr. original, which reads " 12th." 



64 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Dec. 1684 by N. and A^. A^. W. to weather the said Cape and prose- 
cute our Voyage : But by that Time we were five Leagues 
from the Place of our Departure, we perceiv'd the Wind 
shifted upon us, and not knowing which Way the Currents 
sate, we stood E. and by A^. and held that Course till the 
14th, when Monsieur de Beaujeu, who' was aboard the 
Joly, join'd us again, and having confer'd with Monsieur 
de la Sale about the Wind's being contrary, proposed to 
him to return to Cape St. Antony, to which Monsieur de la 
Sale consented, to avoid giving him any Cause to complain, 
tho' there was no great Occasion for so doing, and accord- 
ingly we went and anchor'd in the Place from whence we 
came. 

The next Day, being the 15th, Monsieur de la Sale sent 
some Men ashore, to try whether we could fill some Casks 
with Water. They brought Word, they had found some 
in the Wood, which was not much amiss, but that there 
was no Conveniency for rowling of the Casks; for which 
Reason Rundlets were sent, and as much Water brought 
in them, as fill'd six or seven of our Water Casks. 

The same Men reported, that they had found a glass 

Bottle, and in it a little Wine, or some other Liquor, almost 

dead. This was all the Provision we found in that Place, 

Mistake in by which it appears, how much Monsieur Tonti was mis- 

Tonii'T^^ inform'd, since in his Book, Pag. 242, he says, we found 

Account of in that Island several Tun of Spanish Wine, good Brandy 

the Voyage. ^^^ Indian Wheat, which the Spaniards had left or aban- 

don'd; and it is a meer Invention without any Thing of 

Truth. 

The 1 6th, the Weather being still Calm, the Men went 
ashore again for five or six more Casks of Water. I was 
to have gone with them, had not an Indisposition, which I 
first felt in the Island of Pines, and afterwards turn'd to a 
tertian Ague, prevented me. Therefore I can give no Ac- 
count of that Island, any further than what I could see 
from the Ships, which was Abundance of that Sort of 
Palm-Trees, in French call'd Lataniers, fit for nothing but 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 65 

making of Brooms, or scarce any other Use. That day Dec. 1684 
we saw some Smoaks, far within the Island, and guess'd 
they might be a Signal of the Number of our Ships, or 
else made by some of the Country Hunters, who had lost 
their Way. 

The next Night preceding the 17th, the Wind freshning 
from the N. W. and starting up all on a sudden, drove the 
Vessel call'd la Belle upon her Anchor, so that she came 
foul of the Boltsprit of the Aimable, carrying away the 
Spritsail-Yard and the Spritsail-Top-Sail-Yard, and had 
not they immediately veer'd out the Cable of the Aimable, 
the Vessel la Belle would have been in danger of perishing, 
but escap'd with the Loss of her Mizen, which came by the 
Board, and of about a hundred Fathoms of Cable and an 
Anchor. 

The 1 8th, the Wind being fresh, we made ready, and 
sail'd about Ten in the Morning, standing North and iV. 
and by IV. and held our Course till Noon; the Point of 
Cape St. Anthony bearing East and West with us, and so 
continu'd steering North-West, till the 19th at Noon, when 
we found our selves in the Latitude of 22 Degrees 58 min- 
utes North, and in 287 Degrees 54 Minutes Longitude. 

Finding the Wind shifting from one Side to another, we 
directed our Course several Ways, but that which prov'd 
advantageous toi us, was the fair Weather, and that was a 
great Help, so that scarce a Day pass'd without taking an 
Observation. 

The 20th, we found the Variation of the Needle was 5 
Degrees West, and we were in 26 Degrees 40 Minutes of 
North Latitude and 285 Degrees 16 Minutes Longitude. 
The 23th it grew very cloudy,^ which threatened stormy 
Weather, and we prepar'd to receive it, but came off only 
with the Apprehension, the Clouds dispersing several 
Ways, and we continu'd till the 27th in and about 28 De- 

1 The Fr. reads, " il s'eleva un gros meage au nord " — i. e. there 
arose a great cloud to the northward. 



66 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Dec. 1684 grees 14 Minutes, and both by the Latitude and Estima- 
tion it was judg'd, that we were not far from Land. 

The Bark call'd la Belle was sent out to discover and 
keep before, sounding all the Way; and half an Hour be- 
fore Sun-set, we saw the Vessel la Belle put out her Col- 
ours and lie by for us. Being come up with her, the Mas- 
ter told us, he had found an Owzy Bottom at thirty two 
Fathom Water. At eight of the Clock we sounded also, 
and found forty Fathom, and at ten, but twenty five. 
About Midnight, le Belle sounding again, found only sev- 
enteen, which being a Demonstration of the Nearness of 
the Land, we lay by for the Joly, to know what Monsieur 
de Beaujeu design' d, who being come up, lay by with us. 

The 27th, Monsieur de Beaujeu sent the Chevalier d' 
Aire, his Lieutenant, and two Pilots to Monsieur de la 
Sale, to conclude upon the Course we were to' steer, and it 
was agreed we should stand West North West till we came 
into six Fathom Water; that then we should run West, 
and when we had discover' d the Land, Boats should be 
sent to view the Country. Matters being thus agreed on, 
we sail'd again, sounding all the Way for the more Se- 
curity, and about ten, were in ten or eleven Fathom Water, 
the Bottom fine greyish Sand and owzy. At Noon, were 
in 26 Degrees^ 37 Minutes of North Latitude. 

The 28th, being in eight or nine Fathom Water, we per- 
ceiv'd the Bark la Belle, which kept a Head of us, put out 
her Colours, which was the Signal of her having discover'd 
Something. A Sailor was sent up to the Main-Top, who 
descry'd the Land, to the N. E. not above six Leagues Dis- 
tance from us, which being told to Monsieur de Beaujeu, 
he thought fit to come to an Anchor. 

There being no Man among us whoi had any Knowledge 
of that Bay, where we had been told the Currents were 
strong, and sate swiftly to the Eastward, it made us sus- 

1 In the original Fr. 28th degree. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 67 

pect that we were fallen off, and that the Land we saw jan. 1685 
must be the Bay of Apalache, which obHg'd us on the 29th 
to steer IV. N. IV. still keeping along the Land, and it was 
agreed that the Joly should follow us in six Fathom Water, 

The 30th, the Chevalier d' Aire and the second Pilot of 
the Joly came aboard us to confer and adjust by our Reck- 
nings what Place we might be in, and they all agreed, ac- 
cording to Monsieur de la Sale's Opinion, that the Cur- Currents. 
rents had set us to the Eastzvard, for which Reason we 
held on our Course, as we had done the Day before to the 
A^. W. keeping along the Shore till the first of Jammry 
1685. when we perceiv'd that the Currents forc'd us to- 
wards the Land, which oblig'd us to come to an Anchor in 
six Fathom Water. 

We had not been there long, before the Bark la. Belle 
made a Signal that she had discover'd Land, which we 
descry'd at about 4 Leagues Distance from us. Notice 
was given to Monsieur de Beaiijeu, who drew near to us, 
and it was resolv'd to send some Person to discover and 
take an Account of the Land that appear'd to us. 

Accordingly a Boat was man'd, and into it went Mon- 
sieur de la Sale, the Chevalier de Aire and several others; 
another Boat was also put out, aboard which I went with 
Ten or Twelve of our Gentlemen, to join Monsieur de la 
Sole and the Bark le Belle was order'd to follow always 
keeping along the Shore; to the End that if the Wind 
shou'd rise, we might get aboard her, to lose no Time. 

Some of those who were in Monsieur de la Sale's Boat, First 
and the foremost,^ went ashore and saw a spacious plain "" ***^* 
Country of much Pasture Ground ; but had not the Leisure 
to make any particular Discovery, because the Wind fresh- 
ning, they were oblig'd to return to their Boat, to come 
aboard again; which was the Reason why we did not go 
quite up to the Shore, but return' d with them to our Ship. 

1 In the Fr. " qui estoient devant nous " — and who were ahead of us. 



68 



Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



Jan. i68s 



Monsieur 
Joutel be- 
lieves here 
was one of 
the Mouths 
of the Mis- 
sisipi. See 
the Pref. 
and what 
follows. 



All that could be taken Notice of was a great Quantity of 
Wood along the Coast. We took an Observation and 
found 29 Degrees 10 Minutes of North Latitude. 

The Second, there arose a Fog, which made us lose 
Sight of the Joly. The next Day, the Weather clearing 
up, we fir'd some Cannon-shot and the Joly answer'd, and 
towards the Evening we perceiv'd her to the Windward of 
us. We held on our Course, making several Trips till the 
Fourth in the Evening, when being in Sight and within 
two Leagues of the Land, we came to an Anchor to expect 
the Joly, for which we were in Pain, 

The Fifth, we set Sail and held on our Course W. S. W. 
keeping along the Shore till about Six in the Evening, 
when we stood away to the Southward and anchor'd at 
Night in six Fathom Water. The Sixth, we would have 
made ready to sail, but the Pilot perceiving, that the Sea 
broke astern of us, and that there were some Shoals, it 
was thought proper to continue at Anchor, till the Wind 
chang'd, and we accordingly staid there the Sixth and all 
the Seventh, The Eighth the Wind veering about, we 
stood out a little to Sea, to avoid those Shoals, which are 
very dangerous, and anchor'd again a League from thence. 
Upon Advice, that the Bark la Belle had discover'd a small 
Island, which appear' d between the two Points of a Bay, 
Monsieur de la Sale sent a Man up to the round Top, from 
whence both the one and the other were plainly to be seen, 
and according to the Sea Charts we had with us, that was 
suppos'd to be the Bay of the Holy Ghost. 

The Ninth, Monsieur de la Sale, sent to view those 
Shoals. Those who went reported there was a sort of 
Bank, which runs along the Coast; that they had been in 
one Fathom Water and discover'd the little Island before- 
mention'd, and as for the Sand Bank there is no such thing 
mark'd down in the Charts. Monsieur de la Sale having 
examin'd the Recknings, was confirm'd in his Opinion, that 
we were in the Bay of Apalache, and caus'd us to continue 
the same Course. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 69 

The Tenth, he took an Observation and found 29 De- Jan. 1685 



grees 23 Minutes North Latitude. The eleventh, we were 
becahn'd, and Monsieur de la Sale resolv'd to go ashore, to 
endeavour to discover what he was looking for; but as we 
were making ready, the Pilot began to mutter because five 
or six of us were going with Monsieur de la Sale, who too 
lightly alter'd his Design, to avoid giving Offence to brutish 
People. In that Particular he committed an irretrieveable 
Error; for it is the Opinion of Judicious Men, who, as well 
as I, saw the rest of that Voyage, that the Mouth of one 
of the Branches of the Missisipi River, and the same whose 
Latitude Monsieur de la Sale had taken, when he travell'd 
to it from Canada, was not far from that Place, and that 
we must of Necessity be near the Bay of the Holy Ghost} 

It was Monsieur de la Sale's Design to find that Bay, Monsieur 
and having found it, he had resolv'd to have set ashore Mistake. ^ * 
about thirty Men, who were to have follow'd the Coast on 
the Right and Left, which would infallibly have discover'd 
to him that fatal River, and have prevented many Mis- 
fortunes; but Heaven refus'd him that Success, and even 
made him regardless of an Affair of such Consequence, 
since he was satisfy'd with sending thither the Pilot, with 
one of the Masters of the Bark la Belle, who return'd with- 
out having seen any Thing, because a fog happen' d to rise; 
only the Master of the Bark said he believ'd there was a 
River opposite to those Shoals, which was very likely, and 
yet Monsieur de la Sale took no Notice of it, nor made any 
Account of that Report. 

The Twelfth, the Wind being come about we weigh'd 
and directed our Course S. W. to get further from the 
Land. By an Observation found 25^ Degrees 50 Minutes 

1 They must have already passed the mouth of the Mississippi 
(owing to La Salle's having failed to determine its longitude, in 
1682, when he had taken its latitude), and were then sailing along 
the Texas coast, probably near Galveston Bay, more than 400 miles 
westward of their desired objective. See note to p. 120, vol. ii, Park- 
man's La Salle (Champlain edition). 

2 In the Fr. 28th. 



70 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Jan. 1685 North Latitude, and the Wind shifting, and the Currents, 
which set from the Seaward driving us ashore, it was found 
convenient to anchor in four or five Fathom Water, where 
we spent all the Night. 

The Thirteenth, we perceiv'd our Water began tO' fall 
short, and therefore it was requisite to go ashore to fill 
some Casks. Monsieur de la Sale propos'd it to me to go 
and see it perform'd, which I accepted of, with six of our 
Gentlemen who offer' d their Service. We went into the 
Boat, with our Arms, the Boat belonging to the Bark la 
Belle follow'd ours, with five or six Men, and we all made 
directly for the Land. 

We were very near the Shoar, when we discover'd a 
number of naked Men marching along the Banks, whom 
we suppos'd to be native Savages. We drew within two 
Musket Shots of the Land, and the Shore being flat, the 
Wind setting from the Offing, and the Sea running high, 
dropt our Anchors, for Fear of staving our Boats. ^ 
Savages When the Savages perceiv'd we had stopp'd, they made 

came to the sjgns to US with Skins, to go toi them, shew'd us their 
Bows, which they laid down upon the Ground, and drew 
near to the Edge of the Shore; but because we could not 
get Ashore, and still they continued their Signals, I put 
my Handkerchief on the End of my Firelock, after the 
Manner of a Flag, and made Signs to them to come to us. 
They were some Time considering of it, and at last some 
of them ran into the Water up to their Shoulders, till per- 
ceiving that the Waves overwhelm'd them, they went out 
again, fetch' d a large Piece of Timber, which they threw 
into the Sea, plac'd themselves along both Sides of it, hold- 
ing fast to it with one Arm, and swiming with the other; 
and in that Manner they drew near to our Boat. 

Being in Hopes that Monsr. de la Sale, might get some 
Infoirmation from those Savages, we made no Difficulty of 
taking them into our Boat, one after another, on each Side, 

1 In the Fr. " notre chaloupe " — our boat. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 71 

to the Number of live, and then made Signs to the rest to Jan. 1685 
go to the other Boat, which they did, and we carry'd them carryed 
on Board. Aboard. 

Monsieur de la Sale was very well pleas'd to see them, 
imagining they might give him some Account of the River 
he sought after ; but to no Purpose, for he spoke to them in 
several of the Languages of the Savages, which he knew, 
and made many Signs to them, but still they understood 
not what he meant, or if they did comprehend any thing, 
they made Signs, that they knew nothing of what he ask'd ; 
so that having made them smoak and eat, we shewed them 
our Arms and the Ship, and when they saw at one End of 
it some Sheep, Swine, Hens and Turkeys, and the Hide of 
a Cow we had kill'd, they made Signs that they had of all 
those Sorts of Creatures among them. 

We gave them some Knives and Strings of Beads, after Return 
which, they were dismiss'd, and the Waves hindring ^^olff/^ ^ 
from coming too near the Shore, they were oblig'd to leap 
into the Water, after we had made fast about their Necks, 
or to the Tuft of Hair they have on the Top of the Head, 
the Knives and other small Presents Monsieur de la Sale 
had given them. 

They went and join'd the others who expected them, 
and were making Signs to us to go to them ; but not being 
able to make the Shore, we stood off again and return' d to 
our Ship. It is to be observed, that when we were carrj''- 
ing them back, they made some Signs to us, by which we 
conceiv'd they would signify to us that there was a great 
River that Way we were pass'd, and that it occasion'd the 
Shoals we had seen. 

The Wind changing, the same Day, we weigh'd Anchor 
and stood to the Southward, to get into the Offing, till the 
14th in the Morning, when we were becalm'd. At Noon, 
we were in 28 Degrees 51 Minutes of North Latitude. 
The Wind freshned, and in the Evening we held on our 
Course, but only for a short Time, because the Wind set- 
ting us towards the Shore, we were obliged to anchor 



Bullocks. 



72 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Jan. 1685 again, whereupon Monsieur de la Sale again resolved to 
send Ashore, and the same Persons imbark'd in the same 
Boats to that effect. 

We met with the same Obstacles, that had hinder'd us 
the Day before, that is, the High-Sea, which would not 
^ permit us to come near the Shore, and were obliged to drop 

Anchor in fourteen Foot Water.^ The Sight of Abund- 
Goafs and ance of Goats and Bullocks, differing in Shape, from ours, 
and running along the Coast, heighten' d our Earnestness 
to be Ashore. We therefore sounded to see whether we 
might get to Land by Stripping, and found we were on a 
Flat, which had four Foot Water, but that beyond it there 
was a deep Channel. Whilst we were consulting what to 
do, a Storm arose, which oblig'd Monsieur de la Sale to 
fire a Gun for us to return Aboard, which we did against 
our Inclination. 

Monsieur de la Sale was pleas'd with the Report we 
made him, and by it, several were encouraged to go Ashore 
to hunt, that we might have some fresh Meat. We spent 
all that Night, till the next Moiming, in Hopes of return- 
ing soon to that Place; but the Wind changing, forc'd us 
to weigh and sail till the Evening, when we drop'd Anchor 
in six Fathom Water. The Land which we never de- 
parted from very far, appear'd to us very pleasant, and 
having lain there till the i6th, that Morning we sail'd 
W. S. W. We weather' d a Point, keeping a large Offing, 
because of the Sea's beating upon it, and stood to the 
Southward. At Noon, we were in 28 Degrees 20 Minutes 
of North Latitude, and consequently found the Latitude 
declin'd, by which we were sensible, that the Coast tendred 
to the Southward. At Night we anchor'd in six Fathom 
Water. 

The 17th, the Wind continuing the same, we held on 
our Course S. W. and having about Ten discover'd a Sort 
of River, Monsieur de la Sale caus'd Ten of us to go into a 

1 Fr. " a quatre piez d'eau " — i. e. in four feet of water. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 73 

Boat, to taJ-ce a View of that Coast, and see whether there Jan. 1685 



was not some Place to land. He order'd me, in Case we 
found any convenient Place, to give him Notice either by 
Fire or Smoke. 

We set out, and found the Shoals obstiticted our De- Second 
scent. One of our Men went naked into the Water to '«"'^»»fi- 
sound that Sand Bank, which lay between us and the 
Land ; and having shewn us a Place where we might Pass, 
we, with much Difficulty, forc'd our Boat into the Channel, 
and six or seven of us landed, after ordering the Boat to 
go up into that which had appeared to us to be a River, to 
see whether any fresh Water could be found. 

As soon as we were landed, I made a Smoke to give 
Notice to Monsieur de la Sale, and then we advanc'd both 
Ways, without stragling too far, that we might be ready 
to receive Monsr. de la Sale, who was to come, as he did, 
soon after, but finding the Surges run high, he return'd, 
and our Boat finding no fresh Water, came back and an- 
chor'd to wait for us. 

We walked about every Way, and found a dry Soil, tho' 
it seem'd to be overflow'd at some Times; great Lakes of 
salt Water, little Grass, the Track of Goats, on the Sand, 
and saw Herds of them, but could not come near them, 
however we kill'd some Ducks and Bustards. In the 
Evening, as we were returning, we miss'd an English Sea- 
man, fir'd several Shots to give him Notice, searched all 
about, waited till after Sunset, and at last hearing no 
Tidings of him, we went into the Boat tO' return Aboard. 

I gave Monsieur de la Sale an Account of what we had 
seen, which would have pleas' d him, had the River we dis- 
cover'd, afforded fresh Water : He was also uneasy for the 
lost Man; but about Midnight we saw a Fire Ashore, in 
the Place we came from, which we supos'd to be made by 
our Man, and the Boat went for him as soon as it was day 
on the 1 8th, 

After that, we made several Trips, still steering towards 
the S. W. and then ensued a Calm, which oblig'd us to 



74 



Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



Jan. 1685 



Command- 
ers at 
Variance. 



come to an Anchor. Want of Water made us think of re- 
turning towards the River, where we had been the Day 
before. Monsr. de la Sale resolved to set a considerable 
Number of Men Ashore, with sufficient Ammunition, and 
to g"o with them himself, to discover and take Cognizance 
of that Country, and order' d me to follow him. Accord- 
ingly we sail'd back, and came to an Anchor in the same 
Place. 

All things necessary for that end being order'd on the 
19th, Part of the Men were put into a Boat;^ but a very 
thick Fog rising, and taking away the Sight of Land, the 
Compass was made use of, and the fog dispersing as we 
drew near the Land, we perceiv'd a Ship making directly 
towards us, and that it was the Joly, where Monsr. de 
Beaujeu commanded, which rejoic'd us, but our Satisfac- 
tion was not lasting, and it will appear by the Sequel, that 
it were to have been wished, that Monsieur de Beaujeu had 
not joyn'd us again, but that he had rather gone away for 
France, without ever seeing of us. 

His Arrival disconcerted the Execution of our Enter- 
prize. Monsr. de la Sale, who was already on his Way, 
and those who were gone before him, return' d Aboard, 
and some Hours after, Monsr. de Beaujeu sent his Lieu- 
tenant, Monsr. de Aire, attended by several Persons, as 
well Clergymen as others, among whom was the Sieur 
Cabaret, second Pilot of the Joly. 

Monsieur d' Aire complain'd grievously to Monsieur de 
la Sale, in the Name of Monsr. de Beaujeu, for that said 
he, we had left him designedly ; which was not true, for as I 
have said, the Joly lay at Anchor A-head of us, when we 
were separated from her; we fired a Gun to give her No- 
tice of our Departure, as had been concerted, and Monsr. 
de Beaujeu answer'd it ; besides that, if we had intended to 
separate from him, we should not have always held our 
Course in Sight of Land, as we had done, and that had 

1 Fr. " line partie s'embargiia " — a party embarked. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 75 

Monsieur de Bcaujcu held tlie same Course, as had been /q„ ^53^ 
agreed, he had not been separated from us. 

There were afterwards several Disputes between the 
Captains and the Pilots, as well Aboard Monsieur de la 
Sale, as Aboard Monsieur de Beanjeu, when those Gentle- 
men return'd, about settling exactly the Place we were in, 
and the Course we were to steer ; some positively affirming 
we were farther than we imagin'd, and that the Currents 
had carry'd us away; and others, that we were near the 
Magdalen River. 

The former of those Notions prevail' d, whence, upon ™ 
Reflection, Monsieur de la Sale concluded, that he must be the Mouth 
past his River, which was but too true; for that River ^/".^^^ "**^" 

^ ' . ' . SlSlpl. 

emptying it self in the Sea by two Channels, it follow'd 
that one of the Mouths fell about the Shoals we had ob- 
serv'd the sixth of the Month ; and the rather because those 
Shoals were very near the Latitude that Monsieur de la Sale 
had observ'd, when he came by the way of Canada to dis- 
cover the Mouth of that River, as he told me several Times. 
This Consideration prevail'd with Monsieur de la Sale 
to propose his Design of returning towards those Shoals. 
He gave his Reasons for so doing and exposed his Doubts ; 
but his ill Fortune made him not be regarded. Our Pas- 
sage had taken up more Time than had been expected, by 
Reason of the Calms; there was a considerable Number of 
Men aboard the Joly, and Provisions grew short, insomuch 
that they said it would not hold out to return, if our De- 
parture were delay'd. For this Reason Monsieur de Beau- 
jeu demanded Provisions of Monsieur de la Sale; but he 
asking enough for a long Time, Monsieur de la Sale an- 
swer'd, he conld only give him enough for a Fortnight, 
which was more Time than was requisite to reach the 
Place he intended to return to; and that besides he could 
not give him more Provisions, without rummaging all the 
Stores to the Bottom of the Hold, which would endanger 
his being cast away. Thus nothing was concluded, and 
Monsieur de Beaujeu return'd to his own Ship. 



76 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Jan. 1685 In the mean Time, Want of Water began to pinch us, 

Third ^^^ Monsieur de la Sale resolv'd to send to look for some 

Landing. about the next River, Accordingly he order'd the two 
Boats that had been made ready the Day before, to go off. 
He was aboard one of them himself, and directed me to 
follow him. Monsieur de Beaujeu also commanded his 
Boat to go for Wood. By the Way we met the said Sieur 
de Beaujeu in his Yaul, returning from Land, with the 
Sieur Minet, an Ingenier, who told us, they had been in a 
Sort of salt Pool, two or three Leagues from the Place 
where the Ships were at Anchor, we held on our Way and 
landed. 

One of our Boats, which was gone ahead of us, had 
been a League and a half up the River, without finding 
any fresh Water in its Channel; but some Men wandering 
about to the right and left, had met with divers Rivulets^ 
of very good Water, wherewith many Casks were fill'd. 

We lay ashore, and our Hunters having that Day kill'd 
good Store of Ducks, Bustards and Teal, and the next 
Day two Goats, Monsieur de la Sale sent Monsieur de 
Beaujeu Part. We feasted upon the rest, and that good 
Sport put sevei'al Gentlemen that were then aboard Mon- 
sieur de Beaujeu, among whom were Monsieur du Hamel, 
the Ensign and the King's Clerk, upon coming ashore to 
partake of the Diversion; but they took much Pains and 
were not successfull in their Sport. 

In the mean Time many Casks were fill'd with Water, 
as well for our Ship as for Monsieur de Beaujeu' s. Some 
Days after Monsieur d' Aire the Lieutenant, came Ashore 
to confer with Monsieur de la Sale, and to know how he 
would manage about the Provisions ; but both of them per- 
sisting in their first Proposals and Monsieur de la Sale per- 
ceiving that Monsieur de Beaujeu would not be satisfied 
with Provisions for 15 Days, which he thought sufficient 
to go to the Place where he expected to find one of the 

'^Fr. "marres." 



Into NORTH AMERICA. jy 

Branches of the Missisipi, which he with good Reason be- Jan. 1685 



liev'd to be about the Shoals, I have before spoken of, 
nothing was concluded as to that Affair. Monsieur d' 
Aire retuni'd to his Captain, and Monsieur de la Sale re- 
solv'd to land his Men ; which could not be done for some 
Days, because of the foul Weather; but in the mean Time 
we kill'd much Game. 

During this little Interval, Monsieur de la Sale being 
impatient to get some Intelligence of what he sought after, 
resolv'd to go himself upon Discovery, and to seek out 
some more useful and commodious River than that where 
they were. To this Purpose he took five or six of us along 
with him. We set out one Morning in so thick a Fog, that 
the hindmost could not perceive the Track of the foremost, 
so that we lost Monsieur de la Sale for some Time. 

We travel'd till about three in the Afternoon, finding Account of 
the Coimtry for the most Part Sandy, little Grass, no fresh 
Water, unless in some Sloughs,^ the Track of abundance 
of wild Goats, Lakes full of Ducks, Teals, Water-Hens, 
and having taken much Pains return'd without Success. 

The next Morjiing, Monsieur de la Sale's Indian, going 
about to find wild Goats, came to a Lake, which had a lit- 
tle Ice upon it, the Weather being cold, and Abundance of 
Fish dying about the Edges of it. He came to inform us, 
we went to make our Provision of them, there were some 
of a prodigious Magnitude, and among the rest extraor- 
dinary large Trouts, or else they were some Sort of Fish 
very like them. We caused some of each of a Sort to be 
boil'd in salt Water, and found them very good. Thus 
having Plenty of Fish and Flesh, we began to use our- 
selves to eat them both, without Bread. 

Whilst we liv'd thus easy enough. Monsieur de la Sale 
expected with Impatience to know what Resolution Mon- 
sieur de Beaujeu would take; that he might either go to 
the Place, where he expected to find the Missisipi, or fol- 

"^Fr. "marres." 



78 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Feb. 1685 low some other Course ; but at last, perceiving that his 
" Affairs did not advance, he resolv'd to put his own Design 
in Execution, the Purport whereof was to land one hun- 
dred and twenty, or one hundred and thirty Men to go 
along the Coast and continue it, till they had found some 
other River, and that at the same Time the Bark la Belle 
should hold the same Course at Sea, still keeping along the 
Coast, to relieve those Ashore in Time of Need. 

He gave me and Monsieur Morangei, his Nephew, the 
Command of that small Company, he furnish'd us with all 
Sorts of Provisions for eight, or ten Days, as also Arms, 
Tools and Utensils we might have Occasion for, of which 
every Man made his Bundle. He also gave us written In- 
structions of what we were to do, the Signals we were to 
make; and thus we set out on the Fourth of February. 
Men sent We took our Way along the Shore. Our first Day's 

discover ^" Joumey was not long, we encamp' d on a little rising 
Ground, heard a Cannon shot, which made us uneasy, 
made the Signals that had been appointed, and the next 
Day, being the 5th, we held on our March, Monsieur Mo- 
ranget bringing up the Rear, and I leading the Van. 

I will not spend Time in relating several personal Acci- 
dents, inconsiderable in themselves, or of no Consequence, 
the most considerable of them being the Want of fresh 
Water; but will proceed to say, that after three Days 
March we found a great River, where we halted and made 
the Signals agreed on, encamping on a commodious Spot 
of Ground till we could hear of the Boat, which was to 
follow us, or of our Ships. 

But our Provisions beginning to fall short, and none of 
our Ships appearing, being besides apprehensive of some 
unlucky Accident occasion'd by the Disagreement between 
Monsieur de la Sale and Monsr. de Beaujeu, the Chief of 
our Company came together to know what Resolution we 
should take. It was agreed, that we should spare our Pro- 
visions to endeavour to go on to some Place where we 
might find Bullocks ; but it was requisite to cross the River, 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 79 

and we knew not how, because we were too many of us, /->&. 1685 



and therefore it was decreed to set some Carpenters there 
were among- us at Work to build a Httle Boat,^ which took 
them up the eleventh and twelfth of February. 

The 13th, we were put out of our Pain by two Vessels 
we discover'd at Sea, which we knew to be the Joly and 
la Belle, to whom we made our Signals with Smoke. They 
came not in then, because it was late, but the next Day 
being the 14th in the Morning, the Boat, with the Sieur 
Barbier and the Pilot of the Bark la Belle come up, and 
both sounded the Mouth of the River. 

They found on the Bar, from ten to twelve Foot Water, AUne 
and within it from five to six Fathom ; the Breadth of the -^*^^^- 
River being about half a Quarter of a League. They 
sounded near the Island, which lies between the two Points 
of the Bay, and found the same Depth. The Boat of the 
Joly came and sounded on the other Side of the Channel, 
and particularly along the Shoals, I know not to what Pur- 
pose. The same Day, Monsieur de la Sale, for whom we 
were much in Pain, came also, and as soon as he arrived, 
he caus'd the Boat toi be laden with such Provisions as we 
stood in Need of, but the Wind being contrary, it could 
not come to us till the next Day, being the 1 5th. 

That same Day, Monsr. de la Sale came Ashoar to view 
the Place and examine the Entrance into the River, which 
he found to be very good. Having consider'd all Particu- 
lars, he resolv'd to send in the Bark la Belle and I' Aim- 
able, that they might be under Shelter, to which Purpose, 
he order'd tO' sound, and to know whether those two Ves- 
sels could both come in that same Day. Monsieur de 
Beaujeu caus'd also the Place to be sounded, and lay 
Ashoar on the other Side of the River, where he took 
Notice there were Vines which run up the Trees, like our 

'^ Fr. " canot " [thus explained. in a marginal note: "Canot; est un 
petit batteau fait de bois, ou d' ecorces, ou de peau " — i. e. Canoe, is a 
little boat made of wood, or bark, or hide]. C. C. edit. 



8o Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Feb. i68s Wall Vines, some Woods and the Carcasses of Bullocks, 
which he supposed to have died with Thirst. 

The 1 6th, the Pilots of the Joly, I' Aimable and la Belle, 
went again to sound, they found the Entrance easy, and 
gave it under their Hands. The 17th, they fix'd Stakes to 
mark out the Way, that the Vessels might come safe in. 
All Things seem'd to promise a happy Event. 

The 1 8th, the Chevalier d' Aire came ashore, to confer 
with Monsieur de la Sale, who being desirous to have the 
Fly-boat /' Aimable come in that Day, order'd the most 
weighty Things in her to be unloaded, as the Cannon, the 
Iron and some other Things. It was my good Fortune 
that my Chest stood in the Way, and was also unloaded, 
but that Unlading could not be done till the next Day, be- 
ing the 19th. That being perform'd, the Captain affirm'd 
it would go in at 8 Foot Water. 

The 20th, Monsieur de la Sale sent Orders tO' that Cap- 
tain to draw near the Bar, and to come in at high Water, of 
which a Signal should be given him; he also' order'd the 
Pilot of the Bark la Belle to go aboard the Flyboat, tO' be 
assisting when it came in. The Captain would not receive 
him aboard, saying, he could carry in his Ship without his 
Help. All these Precautions prov'd of no Use; Monsieur 
de la Sale could not avert his ill Fate. He having taken 
Notice of a large Tree on the Bank of the River, which he 
judg'd fit to make a Canoe, sent 7 or 8 Workmen to hew 
it down, two of whom return'd some Time after, in a great 
Fright, and told him, they had narrowly escap'd being 
A Company taken by a Company of Savages, and that they believ'd 
of Savages. ^-^^ others had fallen into their Hands. Monsieur de la Sale 
order'd us immediately to handle our Arms, and to march 
with Drums beating towards the Savages, who seeing us in 
that Posture, fac'd about and went off. , 

Monsieur de la Sale being desirous to join those Savages, 
to endeavour to get some Information from them, order'd 
Ten of us to lay down our Arms and draw near them, 
making Signs to them, at the same Time, to come to us. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 8l 

When they saw us in that Posture and unarm' d, most Feb. 1685 
of them also laid down their Bows and Arrows and came xheir 
to meet us, carressing us after their Manner, and stroking Friendly 
first their own Breasts and then ours, then their own Arms ^ ^«^*''»*^- 
and afterwards ours. By these Signs they gave us to under- 
stand that they had a Friendship for us, which they ex- 
press'd by laying their Hands on their Hearts, and we did 
the same on our Part. 

Six or seven of those Savages went along with us, and 
the rest kept three of our Men, in the Nature of Hostages. 
Those who went with us were made much of, but Monsieur 
de la Sale could learn nothing of them, either by Signs or 
otherwise; all they could make us understand was, that 
there was good hunting of Bullocks in the Country. We 
observ'd, that their Yea consisted in a Cry, fetch'd from 
the Bottom of the Throat, not unlike the Call of a Hen to 
gather her Chickens. Monsieur de la Sale gave them some 
Knives, Hatchets and other Trifles, with which they seem'd 
well pleased, and went away. 

Monsieur de la Sale was glad to be rid of those People, 
because he was willing to be present when the Flyboat 
came in ; but his ill Fate would not permit it. He thought 
fit to go himself along with those Savages, and we follow'd 
him, thinking to have found our Men in the same Place 
where we left them; but perceiv'd on the Contrary, that 
the Savages had carried them away to their Camp, which 
was a League and half from us, and Monsieur de la Sab- 
lonniere, Lieutenant of Foot, being one of those the Sav- 
ages had taken with them. Monsieur de la Sale resolved to 
go himself to fetch him away, an unhappy Thought which 
cost him dear. 

As we were on our Way towards the Camp of the Sav- 
ages, happenning to look towards the Sea, we saw the Fly- 
boat VAimable under Sail, which the Savages who were 
with us admir'd, and Monsieur de la Sale observing it nar- 
rowly, told us, those People steer'd wrong, and were stand- 
ing towards the Shoals, which made him very uneasy, but 
6 



82 



Monsieur_^de la Sale's Second Voyage 



Feb. 1685 

Their 
Camp. 



Their En- 
tertainment. 



still we ad vane' d. We arriv'd at the Camp of the Savages, 
which stood upon an Eminence, and consisted of about 
Fifty Cottages made of rush Mats, and others of dry'd 
Skins, and built with long Poles, bow'd round at the Top, 
like great Ovens, and most of the Savages sitting about, as 
if they were upon the Watch. 

We were still advancing into the Village, when he heard 
a Cannon Shot, the Noise whereof struck such a Dread 
among the Savages, that they all fell flat upon the Ground ; 
but Monsieur de la Sale and we were too sensible it was a 
Signal that our Ship was aground, which was confirm'd 
by seeing them furl their Sails ; However we were gone too 
far to return; our Men must be had, and to that Purpose, 
we must proceed to the Hut of the Commander in Chief.^ 

As soon as we arrived there, Monsr. de la Sale was in- 
troduc'd; many of the Indian Women came in, they were 
very deform'd^ and all naked, excepting a Skin girt about 
them, which hung down to their Knees. They would have 
led us to their Cottages, but Monsr. de la Sale had order'd 
us not to part, and to observe whether the Indians did not 
draw together, so that we kept together, standing upon our 
Guard, and I was always with him. 

They brought us some Pieces of Beef, both fresh and 
dry'd in the Air and Smoke, and Pieces of Porpois, which 
they cut with a Sort of Knife, made of Stone, setting one 
Foot upon it, and holding with one Hand, whilst they cut 
with the other. We saw nothing of Iron among them. 
They had given our Men, that came with them, to eat, and 
Monsr. de la Sale being extraordinary uneasy, we soon took 
Leave of them to return. At our going out, we observ'd 
about forty Canoes, some of them like those Monsr. de la 
Sale had seen on the Missisipi, which made him conclude 
he was not far from it. 

We soon arrived at our Camp, and found the Mis- 
fortune, Monsr. de la Sale had apprehended, was but too 



1 " Chef " — in the French. 

2 Fr. " laides " — i. e. ugly. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 83 

certain. The Ship was stranded on the Shoals. The ill l-cb. 1685 

Manag-ement of the Captain, or of the Pilot, who had not l' Aimable 

steer'd by the Stakes placed for that Purpose; the Cries of ^(^^^ away. 

a Sailor posted on the Main-top, who cry'd amain, Loof, 

which was tO' steer towards the Passage marked out, whilst 

the wicked Captain cry'd. Come no nearer, which was to 

steer the contrary Course; the same Captain's Carelesness 

in not dropping his A]nchor, as soon as the Ship touch'd, 

which would have prevented her sticking aground; the 

Folly of lowering his Main-Sheet and hoisting out his 

Sprit-Sail, the better to fall into the Wind, and secure the 

Shipwreck; the Captain's refusing to admit the Pilot of 

the Bark la Belle, whom Monsieur de la Sale had sent to 

assist him ; the sounding upon the Shoals to no Purpose, and 

several other Circumstances reported by the Ship's Crew 

and those who saw the Management, were infallible Tokens 

and Proofs, that the Mischief had been done designedly 

and adviseably, which was one of the blackest and most 

detestable Actions that Man could be guilty of. 

This Misfortune was so much the greater, because that 
Vessel contain'd almost all the Ammunition, Utensils, 
Tools and other Necessaries for Monsr. dc la Sale's Enter- 
prize and Settlement. He had need of all his Resolution 
to bear up against it; but his Intrepidity did not forsake 
him, and he apply'd himself, without grieving, to Remedy 
what might be. All the Men were taken out of the Ship; 
he desir'd Monsieur de Beaujeu to lend him his long Boat, 
to help save as much as might be. We began with Powder 
and Meal. About thirty Hogsheads of Wine and Brandy 
were saved, and Fortune being incens'd against us, two 
Things contributed to the total Loss of all the rest : 

The first was, that our Boat, which hung at the Stern 
of the Ship run A-ground, was maliciously stav'd in the 
Night, so that w^e had none left but Monsieur de Beaujeu' s. 
The second, that the Wind blowing in from the Offing, 
made the Waves run high, which beating violently against 
the Ship, split her, and all the light Goods were carry'd out 



84 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Feb. 1685 at the opening, by the Water. This last Misfortune hap- 
pen'd also in the Night. Thus every Thing fell out most 
unhappily, for had that befallen in the Day, Abundance of 
Things might have been saved. 

Whilst we were upon this melancholy Employment, about 
an hundred, or an hundred and twenty of the Natives came 
to our Camp, with their Bows and Arrows. Monsieur 
de la Sale order'd us to handle our Arms, and stand upon 
our Guard. About twenty of those Indians mix'd them- 
selves among us, to observe what we had saved of the Ship- 
wreck, upon which, there were several Sentinels,^ to let 
none come near the Powder, 

The rest of the Indians stood in Parcels, or Pelotons. 
Monsr. de la Sale, who was acquainted with their Ways, 
order'd us to observe their Behaviour, and to take Nothing 
from them, which nevertheless did not hinder some of our 
Men from receiving some Pieces of Meat. Some Time after, 
when the Indians were about departing, they made Signs 
to us to go a Hunting with them; but besides that, there 
was sufficient Cause to suspect them, we had enough other 
Business to do. However we ask'd, whether they would 
barter for any of their Canoes, which they agreed to. The 
Sieur Barhier went along with them, purchas'd two for 
Hatchets and brought them. 

Some Days after, we perceiv'd a Fire in the Country, 
which spread it self and burnt the dry Weeds, still drawing 
towards us; whereupon, Monsr. de la Sale made all the 
Weeds and Herbs that were about us, be pull'd up, and 
particularly all about the Place where the Powder was. 
Being desirous to know the Occasion of that Fire, he took 
about twenty of us along with him, and we march'd that 
Way, and even beyond the Fire, without seeing any Body. 
We perceiv'd that it run towards the W. S. W. and judg'd 
it had begun about our first Camp, and at the Village next 
the Fire.^ 

1 Fr. " quatre sentinelles " — four sentinels. 

2 Fr. " village porchain du lieu " — i. e. near the place. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 85 

Having spy'd a Cottag-e near the Bank of a Lake, we Feb. 1685 
drew towards it, and found an old Woman in it, who fled 
as soon as she saw us; but having overtaken and given 
her to understand, that we would do her no Harm, she 
return'd to her Cottage, where we found some Pitchers of 
Water, of which we all drank. Some Time after we saw 
a Canoe coming, in which were two Women and a Boy, 
who being landed, and perceiving we had done the old 
Woman no Harm, came and imbraced us in a very par- 
ticular Manner, blowing upon our Ears and making Signs Odd Salu- 
to give us to understand, that their People were a hunting, *°^^°^' 

A few Minutes after, seven or eight of the Indians ap- 
peared, who, it is likely, had hid themselves among the 
Weeds when they saw us coming. Being come up they 
saluted us, after the same Manner, as the Women had done, 
w^hich made us laugh. We staid there some Time with 
them. Some of our Men barter'd Knives for Goats Skins, 
after which we return'd to our Camp; Being come thither, 
Monsieur de la Sale made me go aboard the Bark la Belle, 
where he had imbark'd Part of the Powder, with positive 
Orders not to carry, or permit any Fire to be made there, 
having sufficient Cause to fear every thing, after what had 
hapned. For this Reason they carry'd me and all that were 
with me, our Meat every Day. 

During this time it was that VAimable opening in the 
Night, the next Morning we saw all the light Things that 
were come out of it floating about, and Monsieur de la Sale 
sent Men every Way, who gather' d up about 30 Casks of 
Wine and Brandy, and some of Flesh, Meal and Grain. 

When we had gather'd all, as well what had been taken 
out of the Ship-wreck'd Vessel as what could be pick'd up 
in the Sea, the next Thing was to regulate the Provisions 
we had left proportionably to the Number of Men we 
were; and there being no more Bisket, Meal was deliver'd 
out, and with it we made Hasty Pudding with Water, which 
was none of the best; some large Beans and India Corn, 
part of which had taken wet; and every thing was dis- 



86 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Feb. 1685 tributed very discreetly. We were much incommoded for 
" want of Kettles, but Monsieur de Beaujeu gave Monsieur 
de la Sale one, and he order' d another to^ be brought from 
the Bark la Belle, by which means we were well serv'd. 

We were still in want of Canoes. Monsieur de la^ Sale 
sent to the Camp of the Indians to barter for some, and 
they who went thither observ'd, that those People had made 
their Advantage of our Ship-wreck, and had some Bales 
of Normandy Blankets, and they saw several Women had 
cut them in two and made Petticoats of them. They also 
saw Bits of Iron of the Ship that was cast away, aiid 
return'd immediately to make their Report to Monsieur de la 
Sale, who said we must endeavour to get some Canoes in 
Exchange, and resolv'd toi send thither again the next 
Day. Monsieur du Hamei, Ensign to Monsr. de Beaujeu, 
ofifer'd to go up in his Boat, which Monsieur de la Sale 
agreed to, and order'd Messieurs Moranget, his Nephew, 
Desloges, Oris, Gayen, and some others to bear him Com- 
pany. 

No sooner were those Gentlemen, who were more Hot 
than Wise, landed, but they went up to the Camp of the 
Indiscretion Indians, with their Arms in their Hands, as if they had in- 
of an En- tended to force them, whereupon several of those People 
fled. Going into the Cottages, they found others, tO' whom 
Monsieur du Hamel endeavor'd tO' signify by Signs, that 
he would have the Blankets they had found restor'd; but 
the Misfortune was, that none oi them understood one 
another. The Indians thought it their best Way tO' with- 
draw, leaving behind them some Blankets and Skins of 
Beasts, which those Gentlemen took away, and finding some 
Canoes in their Return they seiz'd two, and got in, to 
bring them away. 

But having no Oars, none of them knowing how to 
manage those Canoes, and having only some pitiful Poles, 
which they could not tell the right Use of, and the Wind 
being also against them, they made little Way; which the 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 87 

Sietir dii Hamel, who was in his Boat perceiving-, and that March 1685 
Night drew on, he made the best of his Way, forsook them 
and return'd to the Camp. 

Thus Night came upon them, which obhg'd those un- 
experienc'd Canoe Men, being thoroughly tir'd, to go ashore 
to take some Rest, and the Weather being cold, they lighted 
a Fire, about which they laid them down and fell asleep; 
the Sentinel they had appointed doing the same. The 
Indians returning to their Camp, and perceiving our Men The Indians 
had carry'd away two^ Canoes, some Skins and Blankets, ^°^^ ^^' 
took it for a Declaration of a War, resolv'd to' be reveng'd, 
and discovering an unusual Fire, presently concluded that 
our men had halted there. A considerable Number of them 
repair'd to the Place, without making the least Noise, found 
our careless People fast asleep, wrap'd up in their Blankets, 
and shot a full Volley of their Arrows upon them all to- 
gether on a Sudden, having first given their usual Shout 
before they fall on. 

The Sieur Moranget awaking with the Noise, and finding sieurs Oris 
himself wounded, started up and fir'd his Piece successfully ^ndDeHoges 
enough, some others did the like, whereupon the Natives 
fled. The Sieur Moranget came to give us the Alarm, 
though he was shot through one of his Arms, below the 
Shoulder, and had another slanting Wound on the Breast. 
Monsieur de la Sale immediately sent some arm'd Men to 
the Place, who could not find the Indians, but when Day 
appear'd, they found the Sieurs Oris and Desloges dead 
upon the Spot, the Sieur Gay en much hurt, and the rest all 
safe and sound. 

This Disaster, which happen'd the Night of the 5th of 
March, very much afflicted Monsieur de la Sale; but he 
chiefly lamented Monsieur Desloges a sprightly Youth, who 
serv'd well; but in short, it was their own Fault, and con- 
trary to the Charge given them, which was to be watchful 
and upon their Guard. We were under Apprehensions for 
Messieurs Moranget and Gayen, lest the Arrows should be 



88 



Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



March 1685 poison'd. It afterwards appear'd they were not, however 
Monsieur Morangefs Cure prov'd difficult, because some 
small Vessel was cut. 

The Consequences of this Misfortune, together with the 
Concern, most of the best Persons who had follow' d Mon- 
sieur de la Sale were under,^ supported the Design of those 
who were for returning to France and forsaking him, of 
which Number were Monsieur Dainmaville, a Priest of the 
Seminary of St. Sulpice, the Sieur Minet, Engineer and 
some others. The common Discourses of Monsieur de la 
Sale's Enemies tending to discredit his Conduct, and to 
represent the pretended Rashness of his Enterprize, con- 
tributed considerably towards the Desertion; but his Reso- 
lution prevailing, he heard and waited all Events with 
Patience, and always gave his Orders, without appearing 
the least discompos'd. 

He caus'd the Dead to be brought to our Camp, and 
bury'd them Honourably, the Cannon supplying the Want 
of Bells, and then consider'd of making some safer Settle- 
ment. He caus'd all that had been sav'd from the Ship- 
wreclc, to be brought together into one Place, threw up 
Intrenchments about it, to secure his Effects, and per- 
ceiving that the Water of the River, where we were, roul'd 
down violently into the Sea, he fancy 'd that might be one 
of the Branches of the Missisipi, and propos'd to go up it, 
to see whether he could find any Tokens of it, or of the 
Marks he had left, when he went down by Land to the 
Mouth of it. 

In the mean Time, Monsieur de Beaujeu was prepar- 
ing to depart: The Chevalier de Aire had many Confer- 
ences with Monsieur de la Sale about several things, the 
latter demanded of Monsieur de Bcaiijcn, particularly the 
Cannon and Ball which were aboard the Joly, and had 



Debates 
between 
the CoiU' 
manders. 



^ Fr. "jointes au degout qui la perte de notre navire avoit cause 
parmi la pluspart des honnestes gens qui avoient snivi M. de la Salle " 
— together with the anxiety which the loss of our ship had occasioned 
among most of the people of respectability who had followed M. de La 
Salle/ C. C. edit. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 89 

been design'd for him ; which Monsieur de Beaujeu refus'd, March 1685 
alledging that all those things lay at the Bottom of the 
Hold, and that he could not rummage it without evident 
Danger of perishing; tho', at the same time, he knew we 
had Eight Pieces of Cannon and not one Bullet, 

I know not how that Affair was decided between them ; Mr. de la 
but am sure he suffer'd the Captain of the Fly-boat I'Aimable Sale much 
to imbark aboard Monsieur de Beaujeu, tho' he deserv'd 
to be most severely punish'd, had Justice been done him. 
His Crew follow'd him, contrary to what Monsieur de 
Beaujeu had promis'd, that he would not receive a Man Mr. de 
of them. All that Monsieur de la Sale could do, tho' so?^^"J^V. 
much wrong'd, was to write to France, to Monsieur de 
Saignelay, Minister of State, whom he acquainted with all 
the Particulars, as I was inform'd, when I return'd, and he 
gave the Packet to Monsieur de Beaujeu, who sail'd away 
for France.^ 

Having lost the Notes I took at that time, and being 
forc'd to rely much upon Memory for what I now write, I 
shall not pretend to be any longer exact in the Dates, for 
fear of mistaking, and therefore I cannot be positive as to 
the Day of Monsieur de Beaujeu's Departure, but believe 
it was the 14th of March, 1685. 

When Monsr. de Beaujeu was gone, we fell to Work to A Fort 
make a Fort, of the Wreck of the Ship that had been cast 
away, and many Pieces of Timber the Sea threw up; and 
during that Time, several Men deserted, which added to 

1 Though evidently not altogether satisfied in his own mind that 
he had reached the mouth of the Mississippi, La Salle, desirous to 
relieve himself of the many complications and annoyances arising 
from the strained relations between himself and Beaujeu, decided 
to land his soldiers at a place which he named St. Louis Bay (now 
known as Matagardu Bay), thinking to send them northward along 
the coast until they should come to the principal outlet of the 
" fatal river " as Joutel frequently calls the Mississippi. While here 
the loss of the Amiable and its valuable stores, the sickness of many of 
the company, and finally the departure of the Joly with Beaujeu, left 
La Salle in a sad plight. (See note concerning the relations between 
La Salle and Beaujeu, in Parkman's La Salle, ii, 133 (Champlain 
edition). 



90 



Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



March 1685 



Monsr. de 
la Sale 
goes to dis- 
cover up 
the River. 



Returns. 



Sets out 
again. 



Monsieur de la Sale's Affliction. A Spaniard and a French 
Man stole away and fled, and were never more heard of. 
Four or five others follow'd their Example, but Monsieur 
de la Sale having timely Notice, sent after them, and they 
were brought back. One of them was condemn'd to Death, 
and the others to serve the King ten Years in that Country, 

When our Fort was well advanc'd, Monsr. de la Sale 
resolv'd to clear his Doubts, and to go up the River, where 
we were, tO' know whether it was not an Arm of the Miss- 
isipi, and accordingly order' d fifty Men tO' attend him, of 
which Number were Monsr. Cavelier, his Brother, and 
Monsr. Chedeville, both Priests, two Recolet Fryars, and 
several Voluntiers, who set out in five Canoes we had, with 
the necessary Provisions. There remain'd in the Fort about 
an hundred and thirty Persons, and Monsr. de la Sale 
gave me the Command of it, with Orders not tO' have any 
Commerce with the Natives, but to fire at them if they 
appear'd. 

Whilst Monsr. de la Sale was absent, I caus'd an Oven 
to be built, which was a great Help to us, and employ'd my 
self in finishing the Fort, and putting it in a Posture to 
withstand the Indians, who came frequently in the Night 
to range about us, howling like Wolves and Dogs; but 
two or three^ Musquet Shots put them to Flight. It hap- 
pen'd one Night, that having fir'd six or seven Shot, Mon- 
sieur de la Sale who was not far from us, heard them, and 
being in Pain about it, he return' d with six or seven Men, 
and found all Things in a good Posture. 

He told us he had found a good Country, fit to sow and 
plant all Sorts of Grain, abounding in Beeves and wild 
Fowl ; that he design'd to erect a Fort farther up the River,^ 
and accordingly, he left me Orders to square out as much 
Timber as I could get, the Sea casting up much upon the 
Shore. He had given the same Orders to the Men he had 



1 Fr. " trois ou quatre " — three or four. 

2 Fr. " vouloit faire un Fort plus avant dans le pays " — designed to 
establish a fortified post farther inland. C. C. edit. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 91 

left on the Spot, seven or eight of whom, detach'd from the Apr. 1685 
rest, being busy at that Work, and seeing a Number of the 
Natives, fled, and unadviseably left their Tools behind them. 
Monseiur de la Sale returning thither, found a Paper made 
fast to a Reed, which gave him Notice of that Accident, 
which he was concern'd at, because of the Tools, not so 
much for the Value of the Loss, as because it was furnish- 
ing the Natives with such Things as they might afterwards 
make Use of against us. 

About the Beginning of April we were alarm'd by a a Spanish 
Vessel which appear'd at Sea, near enough to discern the ^^^^^^ <^P- 
Sails, and we supposed they might be Spaniards, who had 
heard of our Coming and were ranging the Coast to find 
us out. That made us stand upon our Guard, to keep 
within the Fort, and see that our Arms were fit for Service. 
We afterwards saw two Men in that Vessel, who^ instead 
of coming to uss, went towards the other Point, and by 
that Means pass'd on, without perceiving us. 

Having one Day observ'd, that the Water work'd and 
bubbled up, and afterwards perceiving it was occasion'd 
by the Fish skipping from Place to Place, I caused a Net 
to be brought, and we took a prodigious Quantity of Fish, Plenty of 
among which were many Dorado's or Gilt-Heads, Mullets *^ ^"' 

and others about as big as a Herring, which afforded us 
good Food for several Days, This fishery, which I caused 
to be often follow'd, was a great Help towards our Sub- 
sistance. 

About that Time, and on Easter-day that Year, an un- 
fortunate Accident befel Monsieur le Gros. After Divine 
Service he took a Gun to go kill Snipes about the Fort. 
He shot one, which fell into a Marsh ; he took off his Shoes 
and Stockings to fetch it out, and returning, through Care- 
lessness trod upon a Rattle Snake, so call'd, because it has Rattle 
a Sort of Scale on the Tail, which makes a Noise. The f^^^{^ q^^ 
Serpent bit him a little above the Ankle, he was carefully 

1 Fr. " vaisseau, qui " — i. e. ship, which. 



92 



Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



Apr. i68s 



May i68s 



Salt found 
in Pools. 



Indians 
come to the 
Fort. 



dress'd and look'd after, yet after having endurM very 
much, he dy'd at last, as I shall mention in its Place. An- 
other more unlucky Accident befell us, one of our Fisher- 
men swimming about the Net to gather the Fish, was 
carry'd away by the Current, and could not be help'd by us. 

Our Men sometimes went about several little Salt Water 
Lakes, that were near our Fort, and found on the Banks a 
Sort of flat Fishes, like Turbots asleep, which they struck 
with sharp pointed Sticks, and they were good Food. Provi- 
dence also shew'd us that there was Salt made by the Sun, 
upon several little Salt Water Pools there were in divers 
Places, for having observ'd that there grew on them a Sort 
of white Substance, like the Cream upon Milk, I took care 
every Day to send and fetch that Scum off, which prov'd to 
be a very white and good Salt, whereof I gather'd a 
Quantity, and it did us good Service. 

Some of our Hunters having seen a Parcel of wild Goats 
running as if they were frighted, judg'd they were pursued 
by the Indians, and came for Refuge to the Fort, and to 
give me Notice. Accordingly some Time after, we dis- 
cover'd a Parcel of Natives, who came and posted them- 
selves on an Eminence, within Cannon Shot, some of them 
drew off from the rest and approach' d the Fort by the 
Way of the Downs. I caused our Men immediately to 
handle their Arms, and wet Blankets to be laid on our 
Huts, to prevent their being burnt by the Fire the Savages 
sometimes shoot with their Arrows. All this Time those 
who had separated themselves from the rest, being three 
in Number, still drew nearer, making Signs for us to go to 
them; but Monsieur de la Sale had forbid me having any 
Commerce with them ; however, since they had neither Bows 
nor Arrows, we made signs to them to draw near, which 
they did without hesitating. 

We went out to meet them, Monsieur Moranget made 
them sit down, and they gave us to understand by Signs, 
that their People were hunting near us ; being able to make 
no more of what they said, Monsieur Moranget was for 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 93 

knocking out their Brains, to revenge their having murder'd June 1685 
our Companions, but I would not consent to it, since they 
had come confiding in us, I made Signs to them to be 
gone, which they did as fast as they could, some small 
Shot we fir'd into the Air making them run, and a Can- 
non Shot, I pointed towards the rising Ground, where the 
rest were, put them all to Flight. 

These Accidents made us double our Guards, since we 
were at open War with that crafty Nation, which let slip no 
Opportunity to surprize us, and therefore Penalties were 
appointed for such as should be found asleep upon Sentinel ; 
the Wooden-Horse was set up for them without Remission ; 
and by Means of such Precautions we sav'd our Lives. 

Thus we spent the rest of the Month, till the Beginning 
of Jime. In the mean Time, Monsieur de la Sale had be- 
gun to make another Settlement, in the Place he before told Second 
us of, looking upon it as better, because it was f urther •^^"^^"*^"^- 
up the Country.^ To that Purpose he sent to us the Sieur 
de Villeperdry with two Canoes and Orders for the Sieur 
Moranget to repair to him, if he were recovered, and that 
all the Men should march, except 30 of the ablest to make 
a good Defence, who were to stay with me in the Fort. 
The rest being seventy Persons, as well Men and Women 
as Children, set up with the Sieur Moranget; and we being 
but a small Number remaining, I caused the Fort to be 
brought into a less Compass, to save posting so many 
Sentinels. 

Our little Company began to take Satisfaction in the 
Ease of getting and the Nature of our Provisions, which a 
greater Number has more Difficulty to be supply'd with, and 
which we had Plenty of, by Means of Hunting and Fishing, 
those being our principal Employments, and we liv'd well 
enough contented, expecting to be remov'd. However there A Conspir- 
were some Malecontents, who resolv'd to desert ; but find- ^JJ^^^^' 
ing a Difficulty to put it in Execution, for that they could 

iThis was on the river Lavaca (La Vache) at the head of Mata- 
gorda Bay, and called by Joutel Riviere aux Bosiifs. 



94 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

July 1685 neither get Arms, nor Powder nor Ball, because the Sieur 
' le Gros and I kept all lock'd up, and were very vigilant, 
that none might be lavishly spent, they took the cruel Reso- 
lution to rid themselves of us. 

That bloody Massacre was to begin by me, when I was 
asleep, and then to proceed to the Sieur le Gros, who lay 
in the Magazine, or Warehouse, and was in no Condition 
to defend himself, because his Leg was still swolen, and 
put him to much Pain. The Execution was to be by stab- 
bing. One of the Conspirators reveal'd this to the Sieur 
Devault, a Hunter, who immediately came and acquainted 
me. I did not just then take Notice of what I had been 
told; but in the Evening, when they return'd from hunting, 
I caused one to be secur'd, who presently confess'd all. 
His Accomplice was also seiz'd, and it was very troublesom 
to secure them till the Time when we should remove. 

About the Middle of July, the Bark la Belle came and 
anchor'd near us. An Order was brought me from Mon- 
sieur de la Sale, directing me to put aboard it all the Effects 
that were in our Fort, to^ make a Float of the Timber I 
had caused to be squar'd, if Time would permit, if not to 
bury it in the Ground. Every Man set his Hand to the 
Work, with all possible Diligence, and our two Prisoners 
were put aboard, as was also Monsieur le Gros and his 
Surgeon, with all our Effects. 

The Float was begun with immense Labour; but the 
Weather proving very Stormy, and holding very long, I 
was oblig'd to cause what had been done to: be taken in 
Pieces, and to bury the Timber in the Sand, the best we 
could, that the Natives might not find it. 
The First We then set out towards the Place where the Indians 

Fortahan- )^^^ j^^^^ encamp'd, when Monsieur de la Sale went the 
first time to see them. We found no Creature, and lay 
there that Night, and so proceeded along the Sea Coast, 
without an}^ Accident, to the Camp of the Sieur Hurie, 
which was a Post in the Way, where Monsieur de la Sale 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 95 

had order'd all our Effects to be laid up. It had no other July 1685 
Inclosure but Chests and Barrels ; but there was nothing 
to fear from the Europeans. 

We spent the Night at that Post, and two Canoes com- /// posture 
ing thither the next Morning, I went aboard one of them, ^-^^^^^^^^^'^ 
with Part of my Company, and join'd Monsieur de la Sale 
the next Day, at the Place where he had resolv'd to make 
his new Settlement. I gave him an Account of all that 
had happen'd, and was amaz'd to see Things so ill begun 
and so little advanc'd. As for the Plantation, the Seed and 
Grain put into the Ground, was either lost through Drought, 
or eaten by Birds or Beasts. There were several Dead, 
and among them the Sieur de Villeperdry ; many sick, and 
of that Number Monsieur Cavalier the Priest; no Shelter 
but a little square Place stak'd in, where the Powder was 
and some Casks of Brandy; many other Inconveniences 
there were, which made all Things appear in a miserable 
Condition. 

It was requisite to think of building a large Lodgment, 
Monsieur de la Sale design'd it, but the Difficulty was to 
get proper Timber for Building. There was a little Wood, 
where a good Quantity might be had, but it was a League 
up the Country, and we had neither Carts nor Horses to 
carry it ; however Monsr. de la Sale sent Workmen thither, 
with others to guard them. The Trees were cut down and Hard 
squar'd, but the Carpenters were so ignorant, that Monsr. Labour. 
de la Sale was forc'd to act the Master Builder, and to 
mark out the Pieces for the Work he design'd. Some of 
those Pieces of Timber were dragg'd to the Camp, over the 
Grass and Weeds the Plain was cover'd with; afterwards 
the Carriage of a Gun was made use of; but all cost so 
much Labour, that the ablest Men were quite spent. 

This excessive Toil, the poor Sustenance the labouring 
Men had, and that often retrench' d as a Penalty for hav- 
ing fail'd in doing their Duty; the Uneasiness Monsieur 
de la Sale was under to see nothing succeed as he had 



96 



Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



Aug. 1685 



Carpenter 
lost. 



Second 
Settlement. 



imagin'd, and which often made him insult the Men, when 
there was little Reason for it; All these things together 
afflicted very many so sensibly, that they visibly declin'd, 
and above thirty dy'd. The Loss of so many Men was 
follow' d by that of the Master Carpenter, who was return- 
ing one Evening with me; but I happening to step aside 
to kill some wild Fowl, when I came to our Habitation I 
found him not, and it was never known what became of 
him; an Accident which added to our Vexation, for tho' 
he had but little Skill at his Trade, yet we stood in Need 
of him. 

Notwithstanding all those Dissappointments, enough Tim- 
ber was carry' d or rather dragg'd, to build the House 
Monsieur de la Sale designed, and he was himself the 
Architect. He mark'd out the Lengths, the Tenants and 
Mortises, and made good the Defect of the Workmen and 
calling to Mind that I had bury'd several Pieces of Timber 
at our first Habitation, which might be of Use, he order'd 
me to take two Canoes and 20 men, to go fetch them, in 
the Bark la Belle, which was with us. 

Being come to the Place, we found the Natives had 
discover'd our Timber, and carry'd away some Planks, to 
pick out the Nails there were in them, which they value 
very much, to point their Arrows. We labour'd to make 
a Float, loaded the Bark la Belle with the rest of the Planks 
and other Effects, and set out again. Some of the Natives 
appear'd whilst we were at Work, but seeing us advance 
towards them, with our Arms in our Hands, they fled. 

We return'd safe to Monsieur de la Sale, who was glad 
to see us, tho' we had lost one of the Canoes, for want of 
its being well made fast to the Float; but the Timber we 
brought was a mighty help towards carrying on his Design, 
and much fitter than that we had hew'd in the Wood, with 
so much Labour ; so that this Timber occasion'd the raising, 
another Structure contiguous to the former. All was 
cover'd with Planks, and Bullocks Hides over them. The 
Apartments were divided, and all of them well cover'd. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 97 

The Stores had a Place apart, and that Dwelling had the Sep. 1685 
name of St. Lczins given it, as well as the Neighbouring * 

Bay.^ 

The Sieiir le Gros, who had remain'd aboard the Bark Mr. le Gros 
La Belle, ever since the first Voyage she made to our former ^l^"^r^"^ 
Habitation, was carry'd ashore to the new One, and his 
Leg still swelling, the Surgeon was apprehensive of a 
Mortification, and advis'd him to consent to have it cut 
off. He did so, the' with Regret, the Operation was made, 
but a Fever follow'd immediately, and he liv'd but two 
Days, dying on the Feast of the Decollation of St. John 
Baptist, much lamented by all Men, and particularly by 
Monsieur de la Sale, to whom he was very serviceable, by 
reason of his general Knowledge, and his particular Fidelity 
towards him. Monsieur Carpentier, Son to the Master of 
the Works and the Sieur Thihault, both of Roan, and some 
others, dy'd about the same time. 

Monsieur de la Sale being desirous to take a Progress, 
to find his fatal Missisipi River, and only expecting the 
Recovery of his Brother Monsieur Cavalier, who was to 
bear him Company, he began to make some Preparations 
towards it, and in the mean time, took some small Journeys 
of four or five Leagues about, but could learn nothing 
further, than that it was a very fine Country, hem'd in on 
one Side by a small Mountain, which appear'd at about 
Fifteen or Twenty Leagues distance; beautify'd with very 
fine Trees, and water'd by many little Rivers, whereof 
that, on which we had built our Habitation was the least. 
We call'd it la Riviere aux Boeufs, that is the River of River of 
Bullocks, by reason of the great Number of them there " °^ ^' 
was about it. These Bullocks are very like ours, there are 
Thousands of them, but instead of Hair they have a very 
long curl'd Sort of Wool.^ 

1 St. Louis Bay, St. Bernard's Bay, Matagorda Bay, Esperitu Bay — 
are all names by which this Bay has been known. La Salle had a 
peculiar penchant for naming his forts, and after his royal master, 
Louis XIV; New Fort, St. Louis of the Illinois, Fort St. Louis of 
Texas, etc. 

2 In the Fr. this sentence is a marginal note. 

7 



9^ Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Sep. 1685 Monsieur de la Sale Studying all Ways to find out the 

' River Missisipi, imagin'd it might fall into the adjacent 
Bay, and resolv'd to go view all the Coasts about it, and to 
make use of the Bark la Belle. Accordingly he order'd me 
to repair to the said Bark, with five Men and a Canoe, into 
which he put his Cloaths, and other Effects in several Chests. 
That short Voyage was very troublesome to us, by reason 
of the foul Weather, with contrary Winds and Storms, 
which had like to have overwhelm'd us, and what was still 
worse, we did not find the Bark, where we had left her. 
We went on a League further, to no Purpose, and Pro- 
visions beginning to fall short, because we had been six 
Days on the Way, instead of three, we resolv'd to return 
to the Place from whence we came. 

Monsieur de la Sale seeing us return at a distance, came 
to meet us. Our Report troubled him for the Bark, which 
he stood in need of, so that he resolv'd to go himself to seek 
her, imbark'd in a Canoe, and sent me another Way, in 
another. After having wander'd about all that Day, the 
next Night and the Day following, we at last perceiv'd her, 
where she lay under Shelter in a little Creek, having been in 
Boat of the Danger of Perishing by the foul Weather we had been in, 
Bark lost. 2in.<l had lost her Boat, which was not well made fast, 
Oct. 1685 The Bark was also discover'd by Monsieur de la Sale, 

who was on the other side, which made him draw near and 
land, whence he sent his Canoe to the said Bark, and Mon- 
sieur Moranget who commanded it, went aboard ta meet 
him. The Loss of the Boat troubled Monsieur de la Sale, 
I sent a Canoe to bring him, but to no Purpose; however 
the Trunks were put aboard the Bark. 

Monsieur Cavalier the Priest, being recover'd Monsieur 
de la Sale prepar'd to set out with all Speed. He was 
pleas'd to Honour me with the Command, during his Ab- 
sence, and left me an Inventory of all that was in our Habi- 
What Stores tation, consisting of Eight Pieces of Cannon, two Hundred 
they had. Firelocks, as many Cutlaces, an Hundred Barrels of Powder, 
three Thousand Weight of Ball, about three Hundred 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 99 

Weight of other Lead, some Bars of Iron, twenty Packs Nov. 1685 
of Iron to make Nails, some Iron Work and Tools, as 
Hatchets and the like. 

As for Provisions, all that were left me amounted to 
twenty Casks of Meal, one Cask and a half of Wine, three 
Quarters of a Cask of Brandy, and for living Creatures some 
few Swine, a Cock and a Hen ; which is very short of what 
has been Publish'd by the Author of a Book entituled, The 
first Establishment in New France : but the Reason of it is, 
that he compiled his Work upon the Credit of Relations, 
which were as false as to the Point of the Ammunition and 
Provisions, remaining in our Habitation, when Monsieur 
de la Sale set out that Time, as concerning the Fort well 
condition'd, and the Magazines or Storehoses under Ground, 
which are all imaginary, there being Nothing but the House 
I have mention'd, pallisado'd, with some old Stakes. 

Monsr. de la Sale farther order' d me not to receive any 
Men of those he took along with him, unless they brought 
an Order from him in Writing; nor to hold or admit of 
any Communication with the Natives, but rather to fire 
upon them, and some other Particulars he thought fit to be 
observ'd. Pie had made himself a Coat of Mail with small 
Laths, to secure himself against the Arrows, which he took 
along with him, he also took the Canoes, and promis'd to 
send me one back. Five Cannon Shot were the Signal of 
his Departure. 

He took his Way along the lower Part of the River, Monsr. de 

TCI 

to march by Land along the neighbouring Bay, which was ^w/'fo dis-^ 
call'd of St. Lezvis, the Canoes keeping within Sight. I cover. 
was left in the Habitation with thirty four Persons, Men, ^^' ^^^'^^ "^ 
Women and Children, and of that Number were three 
Recolet Friars, the Sieur Hurie, who' was to command in 
my Absence, one of the Sieurs Duhaut, the Sieurs Thibault 
and a Surgeon. 

Our Provisions being very small, and it being requisite 
to spare them, for the Sick, we were oblig'd to apply our 
selves to Fishing and Shooting. Both of them at first 



loo Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Nov. 1685 prov'd very unsuccessful, especially the latter; because we 
■ were not yet well vers'd in them, and Monsieur de la Sale 
had taken our Huntsman along with him; but at length, 
Necessity made us more expert. We kill'd Beeves, some of 
which I caus'd to be dry'd, and they were a considerable 
Help to subsist us. 

Hunter dies Some Days after, the Canoe Monsieur de la Sale had 

with Cold, promis'd me, arrived with three Soldiers, who brought us 
the News of the Loss of the Huntsman Monsieur de la 
Sale had taken along with him, and who had been found 
dead with Cold in a Ditch, where he had lain down to rest 
after hunting, which troubled us all very much. They also 
inform'd us, that Monsr. de la Sale advancing towards some 
Dwellings the Natives had abandon'd, after a small Resist- 
ance, some of whom had been wounded as they fled, they 
had taken and brought a Girl and a Woman, who was shot 
thro' the Thigh, of which she dy'd.-^ 

Dec. 1685 The Canoe was a great Help to us to carry what we kill'd, 

which being brought to our Habitation, found Employment 
for all Persons, some to flea, others to cut up, and others 
to dry it. At other Times, I set some of our men to throw 
up a Trench about our Habitation. 

Jan. 1686 Thus we spent our Time, till about the Middle of Janu- 

ary, 1686, when being all, one Evening, in our Mansion, 
the Sentinel came in to acquaint me, that he heard a Voice 
towards the River; some men ran thither immediately, and 
found a Man in a Canoe, crying, Dominick, which was the 
Name of young Duhaut, who was with us. The Sight of 

Duhaut that made me apprehensive lest some Disaster was befallen 

returns Monsr. de la Sale. I drew near, and perceiv'd it was 

de la Sale. D%ihaut the Elder, that was return'd. 

I ask'd, him whether he had any Letters from Monsieur 

1 The construction of this sentence, leaves us somewhat in doubt, 
as to whether the girl and the woman were not one and the same per- 
son. In the Fr. it reads " une fille, une f emme blessee a la cuisse d'un 
coup de fusil, dont elle mourut — a girl, a woman wounded in the 
thigh by a gun-shot, who died of the wound." C. C. edit. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. loi 

de la Sale, he answer'd he had not. It gave me some Un- Jan. 1686 



easiness, considering I was forbid admitting any Man with- 
out an Order in Writing, and I was almost resolv'd to 
secure him ; but the Account he gave me of the Occasion 
of his returning wholly clear'd him. I admitted him, and 
he told me the whole Matter as follows. 

Monsr. de la Sale, having staid some Time on the Sea 
Shore, near the Place where the Bark was at Anchor he 
resolv'd to try the Anchoring Places of the Coasts round 
about, to know how near the Bark la Belle might come. 
To that Purpose he sent the Pilot with 5 of the best Men 
to sound. 

The Pilot did as he was order' d, he sounded and observed 
the proper Places to come near several Coasts. At Night 
he and his Men being in all likelyhood tir'd, they thought 
fit to go Ashore and lie upon the Land. They made a Fire, 
perhaps to dress some Meat; but neglecting to stand upon 
their Guard, they were surpriz'd, and all six of them kill'd Six Men 
by the Savages ; who also broke their Canoe, and thus re- ^^J^^^J^ 
veng'd themselves for the Irruption Monsr. de la Sale had 
lately made among them. 

More Time being elaps'd than Monsieur de la Sale had 
allotted those Men to return, he grew uneasy, and went 
himself along the Coast, to see if any News could be had 
of them, and keeping along the Shore, he found the sad 
Remains of those unfortunate Wretches, whose Carcasses 
scatter'd about, were torn and almost devour'd by Wolves 
or Wild Dogs, a Spectacle which went to his Heart. 

However this Loss, which afflicted him, and particularly 
for the Sake of the Pilot, who was an able Man, did not 
quite cast him down ; but exerting himself against his Mis- 
fortunes, he caus'd Flesh to be dry'd, and with that and the 
other Provisions he victuall'd the Bark la Belle. He caus'd 
it to advance into the Bay, put a good Number of Men on 
Board to secure it, among whom were Monsieur Chedeville, 
the Priest, and Planter ose of Roan, and order'd them not 



I02 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



Jan. 1686 



La Maligne 
River. 



Strange 
Adventure. 



to stir from that Place till they heard from him, and not 
to go Ashore, unless with a good Guard and necessary 
Precautions. 

Next, he chose out Twenty Men, imbark'd on two Canoes 
he had left, and being come Ashore, caus'd the Canoes to 
be sunk in the River, and every Man to take up his Bundle, 
consisting of Arms, Tools, some Utensils for the Kitchin, 
a few Goods, to trade with the Natives, if he should find 
any sociable, and so advanc'd into the Country, to try if any 
Notice could be had of the Missisipi. 

After several Days March, they came to a good pleasant 
River, which they afterwards call'd la Maligne. Monsieur 
de la Sale marching at the Head of the Company, and hav- 
ing order'd Monsieur Moranget to keep in the Rear; it 
happen'd that Duhaut stopping to mend his Snapsaclc^ and 
his Shoes, which were in a bad Condition ; the Sieur Moran- 
get coming up, commanded him to March, he desired him 
to stay a little. Moranget would not, but held on his Way; 
Duhaut follow'd some Time after, but having stay'd too 
long, he could not overtake the Company, and found himself 
about Night fall in a Plain full of Weeds, where there were 
several Tracks of the Way Cattle had gone, but knew not 
which of them to take. He fir'd his Piece several Times, 
without hearing any thing of his Company, and was oblig'd 
to pass the Night in that same Place. 

In the Morning he shot again, spent the Day and Night 
again in that Place, so that not knowing what to do, he re- 
turn'd the same Way he had gone, and after a Month's 
March, for he travell'd only by Night, for Fear of meeting 
with the Savages, living upon what he kill'd with much Diffi- 
culty and Danger, having before spent all his own Provi- 
sions; at length after most unaccountable Plardships and 
Sufferings, he arriv'd at the Place where the Canoes had 
been sunk. He took one of them up, with incredible Labour, 
and too long to relate, and so came tO' our Habitation of St. 



1 Fr. " paquet," or knapsack. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 103 

Lezvis. Thus it pleas'd God that he who was to be one of Feb. 1686 
the Murderers of Monsieur de la Sale, should come off 
safe, and surmount almost infinite Dangers. 

This Account, which seem'd to carry the Face of Prob- 
ability, prevail'd with me to receive the Sieur Duhaiit, and 
in Reality I could do no otherwise, and I made it my Busi- 
ness to examine into his Behaviour, but could find Nothing 
to lay to his Charge. We continued some Time longer as 
we had been before; during the which, I caus'd another 
little Wooden Structure to be made, of Timber, I had got 
together, and in it I lodg'd the Women and Maidens by 
themselves. Having hitherto said Nothing of the Situation 
of our Dwelling of St. Lewis, nor of the Nature of the 
Country we were in, I will here venture upon a plain but 
true Description. 

We were in about the 27th Degree of North Latitude, Description 
two Leagues up the Country, near the Bay of St. Lewis Country 
and the Bank of the River aux BoBufs, on a little Hillock, anrf Dwel- 
whence we discover'd vast and beautiful Plains, extending Lewis, 
very far to the Westward, all level and full of Greens, 
which afford Pasture to an infinite Number of Beeves and 
other Creatures. 

Turning from the West to the Southward, there ap- The Land. 
pear'd other Plains adorn'd with several little Woods of 
several Sorts of Trees. Towards the South and East was 
the Bay, and the Plains that hem it in from the East ; to the 
Northward, was the River running along by a little Hill,^ 

"^Fr. "On voyoit du Cote du midy, & vers I'Orient, la Baye, & 
les campagnes qui la bordent, de I'Orient au Septentrion, la Riviere 
se presentoit le long d'un petit costan," — To the southward and east- 
ward stretched the Bay and the fields which border it, from the east 
to the north, the river appeared along a gentle slope, — [The phrase, 
" From the east to the north " squints both ways ; the reader must 
determine the meaning. Perhaps, in the editor's translation, the comma 
after the words "border it" should be removed, so as to make the 
phrase " from the east to the north " qualify the verb " border." Al- 
though the editor's studies have not qualified him to express an au- 
thoritative opinion upon this point of historical geography, he hazards 
the guess that this river is one of those flowing into Galveston Bay.] 
C. C. edit. 



I04 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



Feb. 1686 



Living 
Creatures. 



Fish. 



Tortoises. 



Venomous 
Creatures. 



Rattle- 
snakes. 



beyond which there were other large Plains, with some little 
Tufts of Wood at small Distances, terminating in a Border 
of Wood, which seem'd to us to be very high. 

Between that little Hill and our Dwelling, was a Sort of 
Marsh, and in it Abundance of wild Foul, as Curlies, Water- 
Hens and other Sorts. In the Marsh there were little Pools 
full of Fish. We had also an infinite Number of Beeves, 
wild Goats, Rabbits, Turkeys, Bustards, Geese, Swans, 
Feldifares, Plovers, Teal, Partridges and many other Sorts 
of Fowl fit to eat, and among them one call'd le grand 
Gosier, or, the great Gullet, because it has a very large one ; 
another as big and Fleshy as a Pullet, which we called the 
Spatula, because it's Beak is shap'd like one, and the 
Feathers of it being of a pale Red, are very beautiful. 

As for Fish, we had several Sorts in the River and in 
the Lakes I have mention'd. The River afforded a Sort of 
Barbies, differing from ours in Roundness, in their having 
three Bones sticking out, one on the Back, the others on 
each Side of the Head, and in the Flesh, which is like Cod, 
and without Scales. The River supply' d us with Abund- 
ance of other Fishes, whose Names we know not. The 
Sea afforded us Oysters, Eeles, Trouts, a Sort of red Fishes 
and others whose long, sharp and hard Beak tore all our 
Nets. 

We had Plenty both of Land and Sea Tortoises, whose 
Eggs serv'd to season our Sauces. The Land Tortoises 
differ from those of the Sea, as being smaller, round, and 
their Shell more beautiful. They hide themselves in Holes 
they find or make in the Earth. It was looking for these 
Tortoises, that one of our Surgeons, thrust his Arm into a 
Hole, and was bit by some venomous Creature, which we 
suppos'd to be a Sort of Toad, having four Feet, the Top of 
his Back sharp and very hard, with a little Tail. Whether it 
was this Creature, or a Snake, his Arm swelled very much, 
however he was cured by such Applications as were made 
Use of; but it cost him a Finger was cut off. 

Among the venomous Sorts of Snakes, as Vipers, Asps 
and others, whereof there are many, those call'd Rattle- 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 105 

Snakes are the most common. They generally lye among Feb. 1686 
the Brambles, where they make a Noise by the Motion of 
two Scales they have at the End of their Tail, which is 
heard at a considerable Distance, and therefore they are 
call'd Rattle-Snakes. Some of our Men had eaten of them 
and found their Flesh was not amiss, and when we had 
kill'd any of them, our Swine made a good Meal. 

There are also many Alligators in the Rivers, some oi Alligators. 
them of a frightful Magnitude and Bulk. I kill'd one that 
was between four and five Foot about, and twenty Foot in 
Length, on which our Swine feasted. This Creature has 
very short Legs, insomuch that it rather drags along than 
waUcs, and it is easy to follow the Tract of it, either among 
the Weeds or on the Sands, where it has been. It is very 
ravenous, and attacks either Men or Beasts, when they 
are within Reach in the River, and comes also ashore to 
seek for Food. It has this particular Quality, that it flies 
from such as pursue, and pursues those who fly from it. I 
have shot many of them dead. 

The Woods are composed of Trees of several Sorts. Trees. 
There are Oaks, some of them ever green and never with- 
out Leaves; others like ours in Europe, bearing a Fruit 
much like our Galls, and lose their Leaves in Winter, and 
another Sort not unlike ours in France, but the Bark of 
them thicker, these as well as the second Sort bear an Acorn, 
differing from ours both in Taste and Bigness. 

There is a Sort of Tree, which bears small Berries, which, Dangerous 
when ripe, are red, and indifferent pleasant. It bears twice 
a Year, but the second Crop never ripens. There is an- 
other Tree, bearing a Fruit not unlike Cassia, in Taste and 
Virtue. 

There are others of the Sort I had seen in the Islands, 
whose Leaves are like Rackets, whence the Tree bears the 
Name. The Blossoms grow out about the Leaves, and of 
them comes a Fruit somewhat resembling Figs, but the 
Leaves and the Fruit are full of Prickles, which must be 
carefully rubb'd and taken off, before it is eaten, else they 
dangerously inflame the Mouth and the Throat, and may 



io6 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Feb. 1686 prove mortal, as happen' d to one of our Soldiers, who had 
eaten of them too greedily, and without that Precaution. 
I have seen some Trees resembling the Palm, whose 
lofty and long Branches spread like that call'd the Latanier, 
bearing a Fruit, said to be indifferent good. Others the 
same Sort, but whose Leaves are like Gutters, harsh and 
so sharp pointed, that they will pierce the thickest Stuffs. 
This Tree has a Sprout on the Top, which shoots out 
Flowers in the Shape of a Nosegay, of a whitish yellow, 
and some of them at the Top of that Sprout have sixty or 
eighty Flowers hanging down, not unlike the Flower de 
Luce, and after those Flowers follows a Fruit as long as a 
Man's Finger, and thicker than the Thumb, full of little 
Seeds, so that there is scarce any Thing but the Rhind fit 
to eat, the Taste whereof is sweet and delicate. 

Vines. There are Abundance of creeping Vines and others, that 

run up the Bodies and to the Tops of Trees, which bear 
plenty of Grapes, fleshy and sharp, not to compare to the 
Delicacy of ours in Europe; but we made Verjuice of them, 
which was very good in Sauce. Mulberry Trees are nu- 
merous along the Rivers, their Fruit is smaller, but sweeter 
and more delicious than ours; their Leaves are beautiful 
and large, which would be of good Use for feeding of Silk- 
worms. 

Plants ^^^ Plains are strew'd with a Sort of small Sorrel, the 

Leaf whereof is like Trefoil, and the Taste of it sharp like 
ours. There are Abundance of small Onions, no bigger 
than the Top of a Man's Finger, but very well tasted, and 
when the Heat has scorch'd up the Plains, that Plant shoots 
out first, and produces Flowers which look like an agree- 
able Enamel. Nothing is more beautiful than to behold 
those vast Plains, when the Blossoms appear; a thousand 
Sorts of different Colours, whereof many^ have an agree- 
able Scent, adom those Fields, and afford a most charming 

1 [The ascription of an agreeable odor to the colors is found in the 
original. Perhaps the Fr. " couleurs " is a misprint for " fleurs."] 

M. B. A. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 107 

Object to the Eye. I have observed some that smelt like a March 1686 
Tuberose, but the Leaf resembles our Borage. I have seen 
Primroses, having a Scent like ours, African Gilliflowers, 
and a Sort of purple wind Flowers. The Autumn Flowers 
are almost all of them yellow, so that the Plains look all 
of that Colour. 

The Climate is mild and temperate, tho' we were in 
about 2y Degrees of North Latitude, and yet the Seeds I 
caused to be sow'd did not thrive; whether it was because 
they had been soak'd in the Sea Water, or for any other 
Reason. Some came up pretty well, as Pompions, Melons, 
Parsnips and Endive ; but the Beasts and the Insects, left us 
not much. When we come to the Cenis and have travers'd 
so many Nations as lay between us and them, I shall speak 
of the Religion, Manners, Cloathing, Houses and Customs 
of the Natives, wherein they differ but little from one an- 
other, tho' of several Countries. 

Monsieur de la Sale had been now long gone, and we 
began to be in Pain for him, when about the Middle of 
March 1686, hapning to be on the Top of the House, I 
spied seven or eight Persons coming towards us. I pres- 
ently ordered eight ann'd Men to follow me, to go meet 
them ; and as soon as we drew near them, we knew Monsieur 
de la Sale, Monsieur Cavelier, his brother. Monsieur Moran- 
get, his Nephew and five or six Men with them, the rest 
being gone another Way to find out the Bark la Belle, to 
give Notice of Monsieur de la Sale's Arrival. 

They were in a bad Condition, their Cloaths ragged, Monsieur 

Monsieur Cavelier's short Cassock hung in Tatters ; most ^^, ^^ ^*^^ 

*=> ' returns. 

of them had not Hats, and their Linen was no better; 
however the Sight of Monsieur de la Sale rejoyc'd us all. 
The Account he gave us of his Journey reviv'd our Hopes, 
tho' he had not found the fatal River, and we thought only 
of making ourselves as merry as we could. Only the Sight 
of the Sieur Duhaut interrupted it for some Time. Mon- 
sieur de la Sale ask'd me in an angry Manner, why I had 



io8 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

March 1686 receiv'd him, and Duhaut having given his Reasons, as I 

and my Men did,^ we were all satisfy'd. 
The Bark The next Day, the Sieurs le Barhier, Bihorel, le Petit, 
lo^ Cavelier, the Nephew, the Surgeon and others, whom Mon- 

sieur de la Sale had sent to find out and carry Advice to 
the Bark la Belle, return'd, and said they could not find 
her, which was another fresh Cause of Much Uneasiness to 
Monsieur de la Sale. He had been guilty of the Fault 
of putting aboard her, his Cloaths, his Linen, his Papers 
and all his best Effects, of all which he was then in the 
utmost Need. Besides, that Loss broke all the Measures 
he had concerted during his last Expedition, because he 
had resolv'd to cause the said Bark to go up one of the 
Rivers he had discover'd, to advance towards those Nations 
with whom he had contracted some Friendship, and to send 
me in the same Bark, with his Nephew Moranget, to the 
Islands to seek for some Assistance, or else to return by 
Sea to look for his River, 

All these Designs being disappointed, he resolv'd to set 
out a second Time, and travel by Land, to find out his 
River.^ He staid to rest him a while, and to provide for 
his Departure, but having neither Linen nor Cloaths, I 
supply'd him with some I had ; I also afforded some Linen 
to Monsieur Cavelier, his Brother and Monsieur Moranget, 
his Nephew. All I had was at their Service, and I depriv'd 
myself of all that was fit for them, even to ten or twelve 

1 The original Fr. expression seems preferable : viz., " & Duhaut 
ayant dit ses raisons, & moy les miennes, . . . " — and Duhaut 
having given his reasons, and I mine. C. C. edit. 

2 La Salle, now apparently convinced that in his approach by sea, he 
had missed the mouth of the Mississippi which he so eagerly sought, 
determined to retrace, by land, the long route to Canada, in order to 
secure supplies and succor for the little colony in Texas, and to report 
their state to France. In this design, he appears to have been even 
more reticent than usual ; since few, if any, seem to have been informed 
of the real extent of the journev before them. . 

Almost at the outset of their undertaking, the little frigate Belle, 
which was to have accompanied them — as far as possible — along 
the coast — was lost, and all of her crew perished, except three or four, 
who were washed ashore, and rejoined Joutel's party, only after three 
months' absence. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 109 

Pounds of strings of Beads and some Knives and Nails/ Apr. 1686 
which Monsieur de la Sale took. 

The Sieur Diihaut, having several Effects, as Linen, 
Hatchets and other Tools and Commodities, which had 
been sav'd from the Shipwreck, Monsieur de la Sale took 
Linen to make Shirts, for such as wanted, as also the Tools 
they stood in Need of. The Cloaths belonging to Messieurs 
Thibault, le Gros and Carpentier, who were dead, were also 
distributed. A great Belt I had, serv'd to make Shoes for 
Monsieur de la Sale and Monsieur Cavelier. 

All Things being thus provided. Monsieur de la Sale took Monsieur 
twenty Men along with him, among whom were Monsieur ^^^^ g^^^ 
Cavelier his Brother, F. Anastasius a Recolet, Monsieur upon an- 
Moranget his Nephew, the Sieurs Bihorel, le Clerk, Hurler, dition. 
Duhaut the younger, Hiens his Surgeon, and his Servants. 
He left behind those, who were not fit to undertake that 
second Journey, among whom were little Monsieur Cave- 
lier^ his Nephew, the Sieur Barbier, Canadien and some 
others. Each of the Travellers made up his Pack, and they 
set out towards the latter End of April 1686,^ after having 
given me the necessary Orders, and we parted without Cere- 
mony, Monsieur de la Sale desiring it should be so. 

Some Days after he was gone, I heard a Voice towards 
the lower Part of the River, crying twice Qui vive, or who 
are you for. I made that Way, and perceiv'd the Sieur 
Chedeville a Priest, the Sieur de la Sablonniere, and some 
others of those who had been put aboard the Bark la Belle, 
and were now in a Canoe. I ask'd abruptly what was be- 
come of the Bark, and was inform'd, our continual Mis- 
fortunes still pursuing us, that it had run aground on the 
other Side of the Bay. I caused the Canoe to be unloaded, what was 
there being in it, among other Things, Monsieur de la Sale's f?^^D ^l 
Cloaths, Part of his Papers, some Linen, a small Quantity k Belle, 

1 Fr. " alesnes " — awls. 

2 Compare p. 2, line 9. 

3 The 22d. 



no Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

May 1686 of Beads and thirty of forty Pound of Meal, which was 

all they had left. 
How the The next Day, Monsieur de Chedeville told me the Par- 

lost ^"^ ticulars of that Misfortune, and said, That having been 
some Time with the Bark, in the Place where Monsieur 
de la Sale had appointed them to wait, their Water falling 
short, they had thought fit to send the Boat ashore, with 
four or five Casks to fill ; that the Sieur Planterose went in it 
with six of the best Men. That towards the Evening they 
saw the Boat coming back, but the Wind being contrary 
and Night coming on, they put out a Light, which going 
out and the Captain neglecting to put up another, in all 
Likelyhood the Boat could not see the Bark, and they never 
heard of it after, nor of any of those in it, who it was 
probable had all perish'd. 

That nevertheless, they continued some Days in the same 
Place, during which Time three or four of their Men died; 
and at last, having no Water, they eat up their Swine, 
before they died with Thirst, and resolv'd to weigh Anchor 
and draw near to the Dwelling ; but having few Hands and 
those spent, and to add to their Misfortune the Wind prov- 
ing contrary, they were drove to the other Side of the Bay, 
where they run aground. 

That having no Boat, nor Men enough to land their 
Effects, they had endeavour'd to make a Float with some 
Casks and Planks, but that being ill made and join'd to- 
gether, the first that went upon it had perish'd. That hav- 
ing made another Float better fastened together than the 
first, they had by that Means saved some Sails and Rigging, 
several inconsiderable Things, Linen, Cloaths and Papers 
belonging to Monsieur de la Sale and others, and then 
stay'd Ashore, expecting to hear some News, and had found 
a Canoe, being the same that was before lost on the Edge 
of the Bay, which had been drove to the other Side ; and that 
Provisions at last beginning to fall short, they weiit aboard 
the said Canoe and came to us ; fortunate in that they had 
not been discover'd by the Natives, during their Stay 



Into NORTH AMERICA. iii 

Ashore, which was for the Space of three Months, and in June 1686 
finding the Canoe to bring them back. 

When Monsietn- de la Sale went away, the Sieur Barbier 
had taken upon him to go a hunting, as also to provide 
Bark to cover our Houses, instead of Hides, because the 
Sun drying and contracting them, Part of the Top of our 
Buildings was uncover'd. I farther enjoyn'd him to cut 
Stakes, to make a Palisade about our Dwelling, and the 
Sieur Chedeville having told me they had bury'd several 
Things they could not bring away, I sent the Sieur Barbier 
with two Canoes and fifteen Men to the Place, where they 
found some Pedreroes,^ Rigging and Sails. The Natives 
having discover'd the Concealment, had taken away some 
Pieces of Linen and Iron Tools, which they very much 
covet. 

The Sieur Barbier after his Return, continuing his Exer- 
cise of hunting, happen'd to meet with a Parcel of the 
Natives, some of whom had Firelocks, which they had taken Encounter 
from our Men, and with which they made some Shots at "^fiJlf 
him, but very weak; and he firing three or four Shot at 
them they retir'd. He was then in a Canoe on the River, 
and design'd to have gone upwards; but that Rancounter 
having oblig'd him to take another Way, and the Savages 
perceiving it, eight of them swam over the River, hasten- 
ing to get before the Canoe, hid themselves among the 
Weeds, near the Way he was to pass, and when he was 
near enough, let fly their Arrows, which wounded several 
Men. One Shot the Sieur Barbier made, put them all to 
Flight again; he held on his Way and return'd to our 
Habitation. 

Some Days after, we perceiv'd a Herd of Bullocks fly- 
ing, and guess'd they were pursu'd by the Savages, which 
afterwards appear'd to be true. Some of them drew near to 
our Habitation, but a Cannon Shot, I pointed towards the 
Gang of them, and a Musket-shot Monsieur Barbier fired at 
the nearest, made them all fly farther off. 

^ Fr. " pierriers " — swivel-guns. C. C. edit. 



112 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



June 1686 



The Sieur 

Barbier 

marries. 



Accidents 
concerning 
the Reco- 
lets. 



Duhaut 
Endeavours 
to occasion 
a Mutiny. 



When the Sieur Barbier went out a Hunting", I com- 
monly sent with him some Women and Maids, to help the 
Hunters to dress and dry the Flesh; but being inform'd 
that he us'd to slip aside from the Company, with a young 
Maid he had a Kindness for, and which gave Occasion to 
some well-grounded Railleries ; the said Barbier being told 
I was acquainted with that Affair, came and spoke to me 
in private, desiring Leave to marry that young Woman, I 
made some Difficulty of it at first, advising him to stay till 
Monsieur de la Sale retum'd; but at last, considering they 
might have anticipated upon Matrimony, I took the Ad- 
vice of the Recolet Fathers, and of Monsieur Chedeville 
the Priest, and allowed them to marry. Monsieur le Mar- 
quis de la Sabloniere following this Example, ask'd the 
same Liberty, being in Love with a young Maid, which I 
absolutely refus'd, and forbid them seeing one another. 

Some Time pass'd in which Nothing happen'd to us 
worth obserAnng; however, I will mention two Things 
which befell our Recolet Fathers. One was. That Father 
Anastasius, being a hunting Bullocks with me, and com- 
ing too near one I had shot, and was fallen, the Beast, as 
much hurt as he was, started up, attack' d and threw him 
down ; he had much ado to get off, and I to rescue him, be- 
cause I durst not shoot for Fear of killing him. The Bul- 
lock being weak, fell again; the Father was deliver'd, but 
lay ill some Months. The other was. That Father Max- 
imus had writ some Memoirs concerning Monsieur de la 
Sale's Conduct, condemning him upon several Occasions. 
I was told of it, found Means to get those Memoirs, threw 
them into the Fire, and so the Father came off. 

About the same Time, most of our Men seeing Monsieur 
de le Sale did not return, began to mutter. The Sieur 
Duhaut, who perhaps had been the first Fomenter of those 
Discontents, back'd the Complaints of the disgusted Party, 
promis'd them great Matters under his Conduct, and of- 
fer'd to supply them with such Effects as he had in Pos- 
session, endeavouring, as I suppose, by those Means, to 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 113 

gain their Affections, for a mischievous Design, which it is June 1686 
Hkely he had even then conceiv'd. 

It was not long before, I had Intimation of the whole 
Affair, and I had done Monsieur de la Sale a singular 
Piece of Service, had I then put to Death the Person, who 
was to be his Murderer ; but I rested satisfy'd with giving 
him a severe Reprimand, and threat'ning to cause him to 
be secur'd if he persisted, being able to do no other under 
my present Circumstances. However, I talk'd to all con- 
cern'd, and put them in such Hopes of Monsieur de la 
Salens Return, and that Things would soon change to their 
Satisfaction, that they were all pacify'd. 

But in Regard, that Idleness often occasions Uneasiness 
and Impatience, I us'd all possible Means to keep them 
employ' d, in the most obliging Manner I could, setting 
some to cut down the Bushes about our Dwelling, others 
to hew down Trees, that hinder' d the Prospect, others 
mow'd the Grass, that fresh might grow up for our Cattle, 
and at Night I made them divert themselves with Dancing 
and Singing. 

Whilst we thus pass'd away the Time the best we could, 
Monsieur de la Sale had penetrated very far up into the M. de la 
Country, inclining towards the Northern Part of Mexico. ^g^Jigf*^' 
He had travell'd through several Nations, the Inhabitants 
whereof were, for the most Part, sociable, and had con- 
cluded a Sort of Alliance with them, and particularly with 
the Cenis and others whose names I shall mention. He 
had discover'd charming Countries abounding in all Things 
that could be wish'd, as well for Sustenance, as for making 
of easy Settlements, and after he and his Nephew Moranget 
had escap'd two Dangerous Sicknesses, he retum'd to our 
Habitation, with five Horses he had purchas'd, and arriv'd 
at it in August 1686. 

Hearing of his Voice, I was one of the first that ran to- His Return. 
wards the River: We took our Canoes to bring him, his 
Luggage and some Provisions over, and the Horses swam. 
We were extraordinary glad to see our Commander in 
8 



114 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Sept. 1686 Chief return safe, tho' his Journey had not advanc'd his 
Design. Monsieur de la Sale had not found out his River, 
nor been towards the Islinois as we had hoped. Only eight 
Men return' d with him of twenty he carry' d out, and all 
the visible advantage of that Journey consisted in five 
Horses, laden with Indian Wheat, Beans and some other 
Grain, which was put into the Store. 
7 Men lost Monsr. de la Sale ask'd me, as soon as he came, whether 
*sert ^ ^^' ^^ Sieurs Clerc, Hurie, Dtihaut the younger and two 
others were come, because they not being able to endure 
the Fatigue of the Journey, he had given them Leave to 
return, and hearing they were not, he concluded the Sav- 
ages had killed them. We were also inform'd, that the 
Sieur Bihorel, had stray'd and was lost, so that there had 
been no News of him since ; that one of Monsr. de la Sale's 
Servants had been dragg'd down to the Bottom of the 
Water and devour'd by an Alligator, and that four others 
had deserted and abandon'd Monsieur de la Sale, when he 
was about the Country of the Cenis. 
M. de la This was a very dismal and deplorable Account ; but the 

solver ut) on ^^^^ Temper of our Chief made all Men easy, and he 
a third Ex- found, by his great Vivacity of Spirit, Expedients, which 
pedttton. reviv'd the lowest Ebb of Hope. He rejoiced at the Re- 
turn and Sight of M. Cliedeville, he was pleas'd at the Re- 
covering of his Cloaths and Part of his Papers ; and after 
some Time of Rest, he propos'd to midertake a Journey 
towards the Islinois, and to make it the main Business, by 
the Way, to find the Missisipi; but it was thought proper 
to let the great Heats pass, before that Enterprize was 
taken in Hand. 

In the mean Time, he gave Orders to' stake about a Place 
to make a New Magazine, or Storehouse. He put to that 
Use the Timber I had caus'd to be cut, and would have 
more provided for the same Use. Detachments being sent 
to work, seven or eight of our Men, whoi were sent with 
the Sieur Barhier, were discover'd by the Savages, who 
being superior in Number, made as if they would hem 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 115 

87 
them in; but each of our Men having taken a Tree upon Oct.^:^ — 

their Shoulders and fir'd their Pieces, which made one of \ " 

the Natives drop, the others took him up and withdrew. ) 

Yet it was not long before they were reveng'd, for they 

kill'd us two Men, one of them close by our Dwelling, and Tivo Men 

the other, who had separated from the rest of the Company ^'*^''^- 

to gather Purslain, and could not be reliev'd. 

There being every Day some Discourse of the Journey 
to the Ldinois, Monsieur de la Sale ask'd me one Day, 
whether I would mal<e one of the Company, and go by the 
Way of Canada to France for Succours. I assured him I 
was entirely devoted to his Will, and would faithfully at- 
tend him. Then he began by Degrees to provide what he 
thought necessary for that Expedition. I had two Pair of 
Sheets, which he took, to make him Linen. Canvas Cloaths 
were made of the Sails of the Bark la Belle. The Sieur 
Duhaut having Linen, he took some to distribute among 
several Persons. Thus he hasted on the Expedition of his 
Design, but an Accident put it off. 

It was occasion'd by a Flux which troubled Monsieur Nov. 1686 
de la Sale, who having told me he could not perform that 
Journey, as long as he continued in such condition, I of- 
fer'd to undertake it for him, if he would allow me his 
Indian, and about fifteen Men; but he answer'd. That his 
Presence was requisite among the Islinois, and that it was 
requisite his Brother should go to France. Thus he re- 
fus'd my Offer, and could not shun the ill Fate of that 
Journey. 

We spent some Time longer after this Manner, during Dec. 1686 
the which, there arose a Controversy about the Privileges Controversy 
the King grants to the First-born of the French Colonies ^°.*** 
in America. The Sieur Barhier's wife was with Child, 
and he claim'd the Privilege granted for that Child. The 
Widow Talon had a Child bom in the Passage from France 
to America, and alledg'd, that her Child, tho' born before 
our Arrival, ought to be preferr'd ; but the Sieur Barhier's 
Wife miscarrying, the Dispute was not decided. 



Sp 



1687 



Who were 
left in the 
Settlement 
when M. 
de la Sale 
departed. 



Persons 
that set out 
with M. de 
la Sale. 



116 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Monsieur de la Sale being recover'd of his Indisposition, 
Preparations were again made for his Journey ; but we first 
kept the Christmas Holy-Days. The Midnight Mass was 
solemnly sung, and on Twelve-Day, we cry'd. The King 
drinks, (according to the Custom of France) tho' we had 
only Water: When that was over we began to think of 
setting out. Monsieur de la Sale gave the Command of 
the Settlement to the Sieur Barhier, directing him what he 
was to do and observe in his Absence. 

There remain'd in that Habitation, the Fathers Maximum 
and Zenohius, Recolets, Monsieur Chedeville, the Priest, 
the Marquis de la Sablonniere, the Sieur Barhier, Com- 
mander, his Wife, a Surgeon and others, to the Number of 
twenty, among whom were seven Women, or Maids, and 
only the Sieur Barhier marry'd; which is much short of 
the Number some have given out remain'd in the Dwelling, 
without any Ground ; for the Truth is, there were no more, 
and particularly no Natives, Monsieur de la Sale having 
absolutely forbid holding any Communication with them. 
As for Beasts, they amounted to seventy, or seventy five 
Swine, great and small, which was a good Stock ; for Fowl, 
eighteen or twenty Hens; some Casks of Meal, which was 
kept for the Sick; Powder, Ball, and eight Pieces of Can- 
non, without any Bullets. 

We set out the 12th of January, in the Year 1687, being 
seventeen in Number, vis. Monsieur de la Sale, Monsieur 
Cavelier, the Priest, his Brother, Father Anastasius, the 
Recolet, Messieurs Moranget and Cavelier, Nephews to 
Monsieur de la Sale, the Sieurs Duhaut, the Elder, I'Arcle- 
veque,^ Hiens, Liotot, Surgeon, young Talon, an Indian, 
and a Footman belonging to Monsieur de la Sale. We 
carried along with us Part of the best Things every Man 
had, and what was thought would be of Use, wherewith 
the five Horses were loaded, and we took our Leaves with 
so much Tenderness and Sorrow, as if we had all presaged, 



1 Should be Archeveque. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 117 

that we shanld never see each other more. Father Zeno- Jan. 1687 
bins was the Person who express'd it to me most signifi- 
cantly, saying, He had never been so sensibly touch'd at 
parting with any Body. 

We went that Day to the Place we call'd le Boucon, be- The Way 
cause there, we had often dry'd Flesh, {which the French ^J^^y ,,, . 
call Boucanner from the Indian Word) This Place was 
not far from our Habitation. The 13th, we cross'd a 
Plain, about two Leagues over, where we saw several 
Herds of Beeves and Flocks of Goats, Turkeys, Bustards, 
and other Sorts of Wild Fowl. We met with Marshy 
Lands, which tired our Horses, and came to a Wood that 
terminates the Plain, across which, runs a Branch of a 
River, full of Reeds, by Monsieur de la Sale call'd the 
Princess's River. That Branch joins the other, and they 
both fell together into the Bay of St. Lewis. 

We kill'd five Beeves at the Entrance into the Wood, 
forded the River, and incamp'd Half a League beyond it, 
whence Monsieur de la Sale sent Men with Horses, to 
bring the Flesh of the Bullocks we had kill'd; the Hides 
of them, which serv'd to cover us, being very useful against 
a violent Shower of Rain that fell. 

The 14th, the Rain ceasing, we travell'd over another 
spacious Plain, where there is a Multitude of Beeves and 
Wild Fowl. We saw several Tracks, leading every Way, 
made by the Bullocks, of which we saw several Herds, 
some moving on hastily, and others running out-right, 
which made us suppose they were drove by the Natives. 
In short, having halted to help up one of our Horses that 
was fallen, we saw an Indian following them very close. 
Monsieur de la Sale cans' d a Horse to be immediately un- 
loaded, which a Man mounting, rode after, overtook and 
brought the Indian. 

When the Savage saw himself among us, he concluded 
he was a lost Man, he quak'd for Fear, and not without 
Reason, for most of our Men had resolv'd to kill him; 
Monsieur de la Sale oppos'd it, alledging, that we were but 



ii8 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Jan. 16S7 a small Number, that very few were left l>ehind at the 
~~~" Habitation, and therefore we ought not to render our selves 

odious to the Natives, but to use them kindly, that we 
might have Peace; an infallible Maxim, the Practice of 
which might have been fortunate to him, had he follow'd it 
sooner. 

He therefore caus'd a Fire to be made, gave him to Eat 
and Smoke, and afterwards a Bit of Roll-Tabacco, and 
some other Trifles. Monsieur de la Sale gave him to un- 
derstand, that he came not to hurt any Man, but to settle 
Peace in all Places, and so dismissed him. The Indian 
recover'd himself a little of his Fright ; but being still dubi- 
ous, what his Fate might be, he at first walk'd away gently, 
still looking about him, and when at a good Distance, made 
off as fast as he could. We held on our Way, and soon 
after saw another Indian running' after the Bullocks. Mon- 
sieur de la Sale caus'd him to be taken, brought to us, and 
treated as the first had been. 

We had not gone far before we spy'd a Company of 
Natives coming towards us, on our left, but we held on 
our Way, till they were over against us, when Monsieur 
de la Sale caus'd us to halt. The Savages seeing us halt, 
stood still also, which Monsieur de la Sale perceiving, he 
laid his Firelock on the Ground, and advanc'd towards 
them,, making signs to him that Commanded them, who 
was a handsome Man, to draw near. That Indian came 
forward, and was follow'd by the rest, all of them Caress- 
ing us after their Manner, which we retum'd the best we 
were able, and then made them Smoak. 
Natives en- Next Monsieur de la Sale gave them to understand, that 
tertamd. y^g, -y^ere going towards the Cenis, that we desir'd to be at 
Peace with them all, and that we would return to our own 
Country, whence we would bring them all they had Occa- 
sion for. Then we distributed among them some Bits of 
Roll-Tabacco, some Strings of Beads and Knives, which 
they seem'd to be pleas'd with, and all this was done by 
Signs. Then every Man went his own Way: We ad- 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 119 

vanc'd half a League farther, to get into a Wood, where Jan. 1687 
Monsieur de la Sale had encamp'd when he went that Way 
before; we cut down Trees to secure our Post, and lay 
there that Night. 

Before our Intrenchment was finish'd, we discover' d, 
first one Indian, then two, and afterwards three, coming 
one after another ; which giving Monsieur de la Sale some 
Jealousy, he caus'd us to handle our Arms, with Orders to 
stand upon our Guard, for fear of being surpriz'd, and 
went towards them. They signify'd to him, that their 
People had told them, we did not hurt any Body, which 
was very well, and that they were come to see us. They 
were entertain'd as the others had been, and then Signs 
were made them to withdraw, because Night drew on, and 
having observ'd, that they took Notice of our fortifying 
our selves, we kept a good Guard all the Night, without 
any Disturbance. 

The Fifteenth, we march'd on, intending to find out a 
Ford, in the River call'd of the Princess, where Monsieur 
de la Sale had pass'd before; but missing of it, and the 
River being swollen, we were oblig'd to go up higher, 
sometimes crossing curious^ Meadows, and sometimes 
Woods of tall Trees^ of several Sorts, but all Young of 
the same Thickness and strait, looking as if they had been 
planted by a Line. The River running through the midst ^ '^'^^ 
of those curious shady Groves,^ which were also water'd by 
several little Brooks of very clear and good Water, afforded 
a most delightful Landskip. 

We also met with some Woods, so thich, that it was Thick 
requisite to hew a Passage for the Horses. Towards the °" ^' 
Evening we kill'd a Bullock, and went to incamp in a little 
Coppice, with our usual Precautions. 

The 1 6th, we continued our Journey, still following the 
River upwards, and from Time to Time meeting the same 

1 Fr. " belles prairies " — meaning, in this case, fine or beautiful. 

2 Fr. " belles futayes." 

3 Fr. " beaux ombrages." 



120 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



Jan. 1687 



Wild Fowl. 



An Indian 

Village 

abandon'd. 



Buskins of 
raw Hides 
instead of 
Shoes. 



Sort of Pasture Grounds^ and the Obstacles of Woods, 
where we were fain to cut our Way through, which 
fatigued us very much; but the Plenty of wild Fowl, and 
particularly of Turkeys, whereof we killed many, was an 
Ease to our Sufferings, and Help to bear our Toil with 
more Satisfaction. 

The 17th, was a very toilsome Day's Journey, by Reason 
of the Woods and Rivulets we were to cross ; after which 
we came to a little Hill, on which there were 2 or 300 Cot- 
tages of the Natives. Those Huts were like large Ovens, 
consisting of long Poles stuck in the Earth in a Circle, and 
joyning above to make the Dome or round Top.^ They 
had been a Dwelling of the Natives, who being gone, had 
carry'd away the Hides that cover'd them, and the Mats 
which are us'd to hang the Insides, and to make their 
beds of. ' 

After a March of some Hours, our Indian having foimd 
a Herd of Beeves, we kill'd seven or eight, took the best 
of the Meat, and held on our Way across a Wood. We 
ford'd a Branch of the River, and proceeded to the Bank 
of another, the Bottom whereof being foul, we incamp'd 
on the Edge of it, and the Rain falling at Night and con- 
tinuing all the next Day, were oblig'd to stay there. 

The 19th, the Rain ceasing, we proceeded through a thick 
Fog, and over Places where the Water was often up to 
our Knees, and sometimes higher; which, together with 
our being forc'd to cut the Way athwart the Bushes, with 
our Hatchets, gave us inexpressible Trouble, and it had 
been much greater, had we not resolv'd to follow the Ways 
beaten by the Bullocks, whom a natural Instinct always 
leads to those Parts which are easiest to pass. 

We were not free from another Inconveniency in those 
Tracks, which was their being full of Water and very 
rugged, a Thing no Way agreeable to our Shoes, which 
were no other than a Piece of Bullocks Hide or Goats Skin 



1 Fr. " les memes paisages.' 

2 Fr. " dome." 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 121 

quite gTeen, whereof we made a sort of Buskins, to serve Jan. 1687 
instead of Shoes, but when those wretch'd Boots were ' 

dr\''d by the Heat, upon our Feet, they hurt us very much, 
and we were often obHg'd to set our Feet in the Water to 
soften those Buskins, However, we march'd all the Day, 
notwithstanding all those Inconveniences, without finding 
a proper Place to incamp, and at last came to a River, 
whose high Bank afforded us a Spot to rest on. 

The 20th, a small Rain did not obstruct our March, and 
having- cross'd a Wood, half a League athwart, and a 
Marsh of the same Extent, we came into a large Plain, 
cut across by great Tracks of Bullocks, which went to- 
wards the River, and made us suppose there might be a 
Ford. We follow' d that Way, but found the River so 
swollen, and its Stream so rapid, that it was impossible to 
cross it, but were oblig'd to halt upon its Bank, whence we 
went to hunt Bullocks, whereof we had no want, nor of 
Turkeys and other wild Fowl. 

The 2ith, we proceeded up that River, and found a nar- 
row deep Place, near which we hew'd down a Tree, mak- 
ing- it fall so as to reach from the one Bank to the other, in 
the Nature of a Plank, and handed our Baggage from one 
to another over it. The Horses swam over and we in- 
camp'd on the other Side, near a very beautiful Plain, 

Whilst we were hewing down some little Wood tO' in- Hebahamo 
trench ourselves, we heard a Voice, whereupon handling Indian 
our Arms and going to the Place where we heard it, we 
saw a Company of fifteen Savages, who were coming to- 
wards us, and made Signs to us to go to them, laying down 
their Bows, in Token of Peace. We also made our Sign 
to them to draw near, they did so and caress'd us after 
their Manner. We made them sit down and smoke, after 
which, Monsr. de la Sale began to converse with them by 
Signs, and by Help of some Words of the Language of 
the Cenis, which he was skilful in, he understood, that 
these were their Neighbours and Allies ; that their Village 
was not far off, and that their Nation was call'd Heba- 



122 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Jan. 1687 kamo. Some small Presents were given them, and they 
withdrew, promising- to return the next Day. 

The 22th, our Horses being spent and hurt, and we 
much tir'd, the Day was given to Rest, and the Natives 
did not fail to come, being twenty five in Number, some 
of whom had Bucklers or Targets made of the strongst 
Part of the Bullocks Hides. They gave us to understand, 
that they were ingag'd in War towards the NW. and told 
us, they had seen Men like us, who were but ten Days 
Journey from that Place. Other Tokens they gave, made 
us suppose it was Nezv Spain that they talk'd of. 

Monsr. de la Sale took several Words of their Language, 
which is very different from that of the Cenis, and more 
difficult. As for their Customs, they are much alike. In 
fine, having shewn us, that towards the N. W. we should 
meet with Plains, v/here the Way would be easier, and we 
should shun the Woods, we gave them to eat, and some 
Presents, and they took Leave of us. A Rain falling and 
holding all the Night, we did not march the 24th. The 
25th, we travell'd not far, by Reason of the Rains continu- 
ing, and that there were several Rivers in the Way much 
swollen. 

The 1 6th, we proceeded on our Journey, and came to the 
River call'd la Sabloniere, from the many Sand Banks there 
are in it. The 27th, ^ departing from it, we came to another 
little narrow River, but very deep; going up higher we 
found a Ford, and went to incamp beyond it, in a little 
Wood, where we had a very bad Night, because of the 
Rain which fell again, and the overflowing of the River, 
which oblig'd us to make a little Sort of Scaffold, to lay 
our Powder and Cloaths on, that they might not be wet. 
The next Day being the 28th,^ observing that the Water 
was still rising, we decamp'd to go a League farther, to a 

iFr. "26th." 

2 Fr. " le lendemain 27." [The original appears to be wrong, and the 
correction extends to the three following dates.] m. b. a. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 123 

higher Ground, where we made a great Fire to warm and Feb. 1687 
dry ns. 

We took Notice the Country was very good, the Plains 
extending as far as the Eye could reach, and adorn' d with 
many little Coppices, affording a very agreeable Prospect. 
We march' d over Part of them the 29th and 30th, after 3 
Hours Travel, found a Way full of Water, which oblig'd 
us to incamp on the Bank of a River; pass'd it the 31th, 
and incamp'd in a Wood close by. 

The next Day, being the First of February 1687, Mon- ym^ae in- 
sieur da la Sale left me to guard the Camp, and took along habited. 
with him. Monsieur Ca'uelier his Brother and seven Men, 
to go see whether he could find any Body in several Cot- 
tages our Hunters had discover' d. He found twenty four 
or twenty five of them, built round like those I have before 
mention'd, standing on a rising Ground, almost encom- 
pass'd by the River, in each of which there were four or 
five Men, and several Women and Children. 

The Savages were somewhat surpriz'd at Monsieur de la 
Sale's coming; however they receiv'd him in friendly Man- 
ner, and conducted him to their Commander's Hut, which 
was immediately fill'd with People, who came to see him. 
The Elders came together there. Bullocks Hides were laid 
upon the Ground, on which they made Monsieur de la Sale 
and his Company sit They gave them hung Beef to eat, 
and then signify'd to them that some of their Allies had 
given them Notice of our being in the Country, and that 
we were going to the Cenis, and they had imagin'd that we 
would pass thro' their Country. 

Monsieur de la Sale present' d them with some Knives 
and Bits of Tabacco', and they gave him Bullocks Hides, 
very well dress'd with the Hair, they gave one for a Knife, 
and would have given many more, but that we told to 
them, that we had no Conveniency to carry them and that 
if they had any Horses, he would give them Axes in Ex- 
change. They answer' d, they had but two, which they 



124 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



Feb. 1687 



la Maligne 
River. 



Indian 
Rats. 



could not part with. It being late when Monsieur de 
la Sale retum'd, we staid there the rest of the Day, and 
several Indians came to see us, in Hopes of receiving- some 
Present, offering us Bullocks Hides dressed, which we 
would not burden our selves with. 

The Second, we set out again, and halted some Time in 
that Village, where by the Way we barter'd for some Col- 
lars, or a Sort of Knots^ made of Bullocks Hides well 
dress'd, which the Natives make Use of to carry their Bur- 
dens, whether of Wood, Utensils, or the Meat they kill. 
They prov'd of Use both to us and our Horses, because the 
Thongs of those Collars serv'd to make fast our Burdens. 

We proceeded on our Journey, through a Country pleas- 
ant enough, but Sandy, and having cross'd a large Plain, 
came to the Bank of a fine River, call'd la Maligne, or the 
Mischievous, because in Monsieur de la Sale's former 
Journey, an Alligator devour'd one of his Servants, who 
was swimming over it. This River is as wide as the Seine 
at Roan, seems to be very navigable and has a very pleas- 
ant Country about it. We incamp'd in a little Wood ad- 
joining to it, and bark'd the Aspen Trees to hut. 

Our Hunters kill'd Beeves, wild Goats, Turkeys and 
other Wild-Fowl, and among the rest some Creatures as 
big as an indifferent Cat, very like a Rat, having a Bag 
under their Throat, in which they carry their Young. 
They feed upon Nuts and Acorns, are very fat, and their 
Flesh is much like Pig. 

Hard by there, we found a Place where Monsieur de la 
Sale, in his former Journey had hid some Parcels of 
Strings of Beads in the Trunks of Trees, and we rested 
there till the Eighth of the Month. During that Time, no 
Day pass'd without seeing some of the Natives, who some- 
times spent the whole Day with us, and said they were of 
several Nations. We made them smoke, and always gave 



1 Fr. " bretelles " — carriers' or porters' knots. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 125 

them some small Presents. They admir'd that after we Feb. 1687 
had writ down some Words they spoke to us, we repeated 
them, looking on the Paper. 

Whilst we staid. Monsieur de la Sale set Men at Work Portable 
to make a portable Canoe, of long Poles, hew'd and joyn'd ^'*"<'^- 
and then cover'd with Bullocks Hides sew'd together, hav- 
ing pull'd off the Hair or Wooll, as it may be call'd there. 
That Canoe was of great Use to us, to cross Rivers as well 
for our selves as for our Baggage, but the Horses swam 
over. 

The Ninth, we put our Canoe into the Water, and pass'd 
the River in it, and incamp'd half a League from thence, 
on Account of the Grass, which our Horses stood in Need 
of to recover themselves a little. The Tenth, we held on 
our Journey, crossing several spacious Plains, the Grass 
whereof was burnt, whence Monsieur de la Sale concluded, 
that there were many Natives thereabouts. He thought it 
convenient to provide Store of dry'd Flesh, for Fear we 
should not find Game in the Country we were going to 
enter upon, and accordingly caused several Beeves to be 
kill'd for that Purpose. 

For that Reason, we continued there till the 12th, when 
we went and incamped on the Bank of a River, which 
Monsieur de la Sale had in his former Journey call'd 
d'Eure. At Night there arose a storm, follow'd by Thun- 
der and Rain, which swell'd the Streams, and obliged us 
to stay there. The 13th and 14th we cross' d four or five 
large Rivulets, and then a fine curious Country,^ diversify'd 
with several little Woods, Hills and small Brooks, afford- 
ing a delightful Prospect. That pleasant Country was ter- 
minated by a Wood, which we were to cross, and were 
favour' d in it by a Way beaten by the Bullocks, and at 
Night we incamped there. 

The 15th, we travel'd along a fine Meadow, then over 

1 Fr. " fort beau paisage " — i. e. pleasant. 



126 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



Feb. 1687 



A Village. 



Monsieur 
de la Sale 
well re- 
eeiv'd by 
the Na- 
tives. 



Names of 
Nations or 
Tribes. 



Plains that had been burnt, and at Night went to take our 
Rest on the Bank of a small Rivulet, about which we saw 
several Footsteps of Natives, which made us conclude we 
were not far from them; and therefore we doubled our 
Guard, to prevent being surpriz'd. 

The i6th, Monsieur de la Sale left me at the Guard of 
the Camp, and took Monsieur Cavelier his Brother, and 
seven Men with him, to go find out the Indians. They 
had not gone half a League before they spied Horses and 
a Number of Cottages, without being themselves seen by 
the Savages. That Village stood on the Side of a Hill, 
and contain'd about forty Huts, standing together, besides 
several others straggling. 

When Monsieur de la Sale enter'd the Village, the Sav- 
ages seeing him, came to meet and conduct him to the 
Cottage of their Chief, where he and his Company were 
seated on Bullocks Hides. The Elders being come, he sig- 
nify'd to them the Occasion of his Coming, as he had done 
to the other Nations, with which they seem'd to rest sat- 
isfy'd. Some Presents were made them, according to Cus- 
tom, and they offer'd him a Quantity of Hides, which he 
refus'd, telling them, that when he return'd from the Cenis 
he would trade with, and furnish them with all they had 
Occasion for. They confirm' d what the others had told 
us, concerning a Nation, where some of them had been, 
the Men whereof were like us, meaning the Spaniards. 
He nam'd to them the Nations we had pass'd through 
from our Dwelling of St, Lewis, to the River Maligne, 
which we had lately pass'd. The Names of those Nations 
are as follows. 

The Spicheats, Kahayes, Thecamons, Theauremets, Kin-, 
hoba, Choiimenes, Kouans, Arhan, Enepiahe, Ahonerhopi- 
heim, Korenkake, Korkone, Omcaosse, Keremen, Ahehoen, 
Maghai, Thecamenes, Otenmarhcm, Kazfagan and Mera- 
couman. These are the Nations that lay on our Road; 
those on the West and North West of the said River were 
the Kannehonan, Tohaka, Pehir, Coyahegux, Onapien, 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 127 

Pichar, Tohan, Kiasses, Changes, Tsera, Bocrettes, Tsepc- Feb. 1687 
hoen, Fc-rcoutcha, Panego, Pctao, Petzares, Peisacho, Pei- 
hotwi aiid Or campion} 

Those we were with then, were call'd Teao, whom we 
had not before hear'd nam'd. They talk'd of a great Na- 
tion call'd Ayona and Canohatino, who were at War with 
the Spaniards, from whom they stole Horses, and told us, 
that one hundred Spaniards were to have come to join the 
Ceni-s, to carry on that War, but that having heard of our 
March, they went back. Monsieur de la Sale gave them to 
understand, that we were at War with the Spaniards, and 
that we f ear'd them not ; and that he was sent on their Ac- 
count by the great captain of the World, who had charg'd 
him to do them' all Good, and to assist them in their Wars 
against such Nations as were their Enemies. 

Those Savages gave Monsieur de la Sale Notice, that he 
would find three of our Men among the Cents, which put 
him in Hopes they were those he had given Leave to de- 
part at his former Journey, and of whom he had never 
since heard. He propos'd to them to barter for Horses; 
but they had caus'd them to be convey'd out of the Way, 
for Fear we should take them away, excepting only one 
Bay, which Monsieur de la Sale agreed for and return'd 
to us. 



1 Kiahoba, Fr. Kiaboha 

Choumenes, " Chaumenes. 

Arhan, " Arhan 

Enepiahe, " Enepiahoe 

Ahonerhopiheim, " Ahouerhopiheim 

Korenkake, " Koienkahe 

Korkone, " Konkone 

Maghai, " Meghai 

Thecama7ies, " Tecamenes 

Kavagan, " Kavayan 

Kannehonan, " Kannehoiian 

Tohaka, " Tohaha 

Chanzes, " Chancres 

Orcampion, " Orcampieou 

Ayona, _ " Ayano 

Canohatino, " Canohatinno 

Compare the notes to p. 107, 1. 34, and pp. 114, 115. — C. C. edit. 



128 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



Feb. 1687 



Account 
given by a 
Native. 



The 17th, we pass'd a small River, with some Difficulty, 
and incamp'd beyond it. The i8th, one of our Horses 
going along the Edge of an upright Bank, fell into the 
Water, and came off with only a Hurt on the Shoulder; 
but we were fain to unload him, and distribute his Burden 
among us, every one making a Pack; and thus we cross' d 
a curious Plain,^ diversify'd with Woods, Hills, Rivulets, 
and delightful Meadows. 

The 19th, we travell'd along the Tops of those Hills, to 
avoid the Bottoms, and found a Difficulty to get down, 
by reason of the Rocks we met with at the End of them, 
and a River we were to cross. Whilst we were passing 
that River, we heard Dogs hunting the Bullocks, two of 
which coming near us, one of them was shot dead. The 
Natives who were hunting spying us, sent out two of their 
Number, who creeping from Tree to Tree, drew near, and 
then stood still, without daring to proceed any farther. 
We made Signs to them to come, which they did, and we 
made them smoke, till Monsieur de la Sale return'd, being 
gone a little Way to observe the Body of those People. 

When come, he told them, he would entertain Peace with 
them, that we were going to the Cenis, and he believ'd, that 
these very Men were of their Nation, because they had their 
Accent and some of their Words. They told him their 
Village was near that Place, and bore us Company to our 
Camp, where after some small Presents given them, they 
were dismiss'd. 

The 20th, Monsieur de la Sale sent Monsieur Moranget 
and some others to the Village of those Natives, to try 
whether they could barter with them for some Horses. In 
the mean Time two Savages came to us, one of them being 
the same that was with us the Night before, and they ex- 
press'd much Friendship for us. That particular Indian 
told us, his name was Palaquechaime, that they were Allies 
to the Cenis, that their Chief had been among the Choumans, 



1 Fr. " belle campagne." 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 129 

with the Spaniards; that the Choumans were Friends to the Feb. 1687 
Spaniards, from whom they got Horses, and added some 
farther Particulars, which the others had before signify'd 
to us; so that we had good Reason to judge we were not 
far from North Mexico. 

He also told us, that the Choumans had given their Chief 
some Presents, to perswade him to conduct us to them; 
that most of the said Nation had flat Heads ; that they had 
Indian Corn, which gave Monsieur de la Sale Ground to 
believe, that those People were some of the same he had 
seen upon his first Discovery. That same Native had a 
very fine Goat's Skin, which I purchas'd of him for four 
Needles, after I had shewn him how to use them, and that 
Skin was of good Use to make us Shoes instead of raw 
Bullocks Hides. 

Some Time after, Monsieur Moranget return'd, gave m. Mo- 
Monsieur de la Sale an Account of his short Tourney, and ranget'j 

Accotifit 

said, That one of the Natives, who saw us the Night before, 
came to meet and conduct him to the Chief's Cottage, where 
forty Ancient^ Indians were, by whom he had been kindly 
receiv'd. That the Chief had in his Hand a Reed, at the . 
end whereof was made fast a Leaf of a French Book, which 
he had an extraordinary Respect for. That they had been 
made to sit on Bullocks Hides, and treated with dry'd Beef. 
That after these first Ceremonies, the Chief had given 
them to understand, that some of their People had been 
conducted by a Man like us, to our Habitation, and that 
the said Man had promis'd to bring them to talk with us, 
in order to treat of Peace; but that on the Contrary, we 
had fired on them and kill'd one of their Men, which had 
oblig'd them to kill the Man that led them, and that then 
they return'd. It is not improper here to put the Reader 
in Mind, that I have before mention'd this Accident, when 
the Sieur Barhier crossing the River in a Canoe, was call'd 
upon by some Person, who was among the Natives on the 

1 Fr. " quarante anciens Sauvages " — forty old Indians. [Later, the 
translater uses the proper word " Elders."] C. C. edit. 

9 



130 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



Feb. 1687 



Three lost 
French 
Men heard 
of. 



Bank of the River, who had made two Shots, as it had 
been only the Priming of a Piece, which the Sieur Barbier 
had look'd upon as an Insult, and therefore he had also fir'd, 
with all the other Particulars, as mention'd before ; an Acci- 
dent that happen' d for want of understanding one another; 
which, together with Monsr. de la Sale's forbidding us to 
have any Communication vv^ith the Natives, was very pre- 
judicial to us afterwards. 

After much other Discourse, Monsieur Moranget having 
given them some small Presents, they made their return in 
Bullocks Hides, and Goat Skins well dress'd. He ask'd 
them for some Horses to barter; they answer'd, they had 
no more than what they stood in Need of. We immedi- 
ately proceeded on our Journey, and that day being the 21st, 
went to incamp at the Edge of a Wood. 

The 22d, we went up to an Eminence terminated by a 
Rock, at the Foot whereof ran a little River, the bottom 
whereof was all of fiat Rocks, fit for Building.^ Thence 
we descry'd two Natives driving of Bullocks, which made 
us stand upon our Guard, and it appear'd to be our Indian, 
who had met another, with whom he had been acquainted 
among the Cenis, and whom he had brought along with 
him. 

Monsieur de la Sale was very glad to see him, and re- 
member'd he was one of those of whom he had purchas'd 
a Horse. He ask'd several Questions of him, and among 
the rest, whether he had not seen the four Men who de- 
serted in his former Journey, or heard any Talk of the 
others, to whom he had given Leave to return to our Dwell- 
ing. He answer'd, he had seen one among the Cenis, and 
two others among the Assonis ; but that he had not heard of 
any more, and that they must needs be dead; as also the 
Sieur Bihorel, who was likewise mention'd tO' him. 

He further told us, that there were four or five Cottages 
thereabouts, in which about Fifteen Men resided. At Night 



^ The Eng. translator here omits the words in the Fr. original 
" & to make lime " (" & a fair de la chaux "). 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 131 

he went away. Our Indian had kill'd a Cow at a great Feb. 16S7 
Distance and shot her quite through, at which the other, 
who had been an Eye Witness tO' it, stood a long Time 
amaz'd, without speaking one Word, admiring the Effect 
of our Pieces. That Cow was sent for, and the Flesh 
brought to our Camp. 

The 23d, we pass'd by the Cottages we had been told 
of, where the Natives were with their Wives and Children. 
Monsr. de la Sale caus'd us tO' halt in the Village. We were 
well receiv'd, they presented us with dry'd Beef, and we 
return'd it in some Knives. We saw twoi Horses, one of 
them a little grey, indifferent handsome. They told us they 
would soon depart that Place, tO' gO' join their Companions, 
who were in War with their Enemies. The rest of our 
Men being come up, we went on to incamp a League from 
thence, on the Bank of a Rivulet, and at the Foot of one 
of the highest Mountains in the Country. 

Unloading our Horses, we perceiv'd there wanted a large 
Axe, which serv'd us for hewing down of Trees. Mon- 
sieur de la Sale sent his Indian to demand it, at the Village 
we came from last, the Savages said they had not seen it, 
and it was lost. He brought back Word, that the Savages 
had told him, that if we would stay for them, they would 
go along with, and shew us the Way. 

However, we went on the 24th, and incamp'd on the 
Edge of a Marsh. The 25th, the Rain hinder'd us from 
Marching. The 26th, Monsieur de la Sale perceiving how 
difHcult and dangerous it was to cross that Marsh, sent his 
Indian to the others, to know whether they really design'd 
to go with us. They answer'd, we must return thither to 
join them. The 27th. we decamp'd, in order to it ; but took 
another Way to go meet the Indians. The 28th. we saw 
them marching at a Distance. One of them was detach'd 
to come tell us, that he would shew us the Way to cross 
the Marsh, and we went on and incamp'd at the Foot of 
the high Mountain I have spoken of. 

The first of March, we join'd the Indians, on the Edge of 



132 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



Mar. 1687 



River of 
Canoes. 



Provisions 
hid, spoilt. 



the Marsh, which we had just cross'd, where the Rains 
kept us till the Fifth, during which Time we went to find 
out where we might pass a rapid Torrent, that discharges 
it self into the River call'd of Canoes, which we pass'd the 
6th, in the Canoe we had made, and which did us good 
Service, to pass other Rivers we met with the 7th and the 
8th on our Way. 

The 9th, we did not stir, because of the Rain. The lOth, 
incamp'd on the Bank of a small River, which we cross'd 
the nth, and the same Day another River, and incamp'd 
on the Bank of it, and found it adorn'd with very fine Mul- 
berry Trees. The 12th we cross'd another River, and in- 
camp'd near it. The 13th, came again to the River of 
Canoes, so called by Monsieur de la Sale, because he 
the first Time put Canoes into it, at his former Journey. 
We pass'd it the 14th, and incamp'd on the other Side 
where we again join'd the Indians. 

The 15th, we held on our Journey with them, and found 
a pleasanter Country than that we had pass'd thro'; and 
Monsieur de la Sale having in his former Journey hid some 
Indian Wheat and Beans, two or three Leagues from that 
Place, and our Provisions beginning to fall short, it was 
thought fit to go to that Place. Accordingly he order'd the 
Sieurs Duhaut, Hiens, Liotot the Surgeon, his own Indian, 
and his Footman, whose Name was Saget, who were fol- 
lowed by some Natives, to go to the Place he described 
to them, where they found all rotten and quite spoilt. 

The 16, in their Return, they met with two Bullocks, 
which Monsieur de la Sale's Indian kill'd, whereupon they 
sent back his Footman, to give him Notice of what they 
had kill'd, that if he would have the Flesh dry'd, he might 
send Horses for it. The 17th, Monsieur de la Sale had 
the Horses taken up, and order'd the Sieurs Moranget and 
de Make and his Footman, to go for that Meat, and send 
back a Horse Load immediately, till the rest was dry'd. 

Monsieur Moranget, when he came thither, found they 
had smoak'd both the Bee^'^es, tho' they were not dry 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 133 

enough ; and the said Sieurs Liotot, Hicns, Duhant and tlie Mar. 1687 
rest had laid aside the Marrow-Bones and others to roast 
thein, and eat the flesh that remain'd on them, as was usual 
to do. The Sieur Moranget found fault with it, he in a Discontent 
Passion seiz'd not only the Flesh that was smoak'd and ly^Monsi 
dry'd, but also the Bones, without giving them any Thing; Moranget. 
but on the contrary, threatning they should not eat so much 
of it, as they had imagin'd, and that he would manage that 
Flesh after another Manner. 

This passionate Behaviour, so much out of Season, and Conspiracy 
contrary to Reason and Custom, touch'd the Surgeon Liotot, ^J!^l''J ^^ 
Heins and Duhaut to the Quick, they having other Causes la Sale. 
of Complaint against Moranget. They withdrew, and re- 
solv'd together upon a bloody Revenge; they agreed upon 
the Manner of it, and concluded they would murder the 
Sieur Moranget, Monsieur de la Sale's Footman and his 
Indian, because he was very faithful tO' him. 

They waited till Night, when those unfortunate Creatures 
had supp'd and were asleep. Liotot the Surgeon was the in- 
human Executioner, he took an Ax, began by the Sieur 

Moranget, g-iving him many Strokes on the Head; th^ Bloody 

... Murderers 

same he did by the Footman and the Indian, killing them 

on the Spot, whilst his Fellow Villains, vis. Duhaut, Hiens, 
Teissier and Larcheveque stood upon their Guard, with their 
Arms, to fire upon such as should make any Resistance. 
The Indian and the Footman never stir'd, but the Sieur 
Moranget had so much Vigour as to sit up, but without 
being able to speak one Word, and the Assasins obliged 
the Sieur de Marie to make an End of him, tho' he was 
not in the Conspiracy. 

This Slaughter had yet satisfy'd but one Part of the 
Revenge of those Murderers. To finish it and secure them- 
selves it was requisite to destroy the Commander in Chief. 
They consulted about the safest Method to effect it, and Consult 
resolve to go together to Monsieur de la Sale, to knock j^'o^ST'^de 
out the Brains of the most resolute immediately, and then la Sale, 
it would be easier to overcome the rest. But the River, 



134 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Mar. 1687 which was between them and us, being much swollen, the 
Difficulty of passing it made them put it off the i8th and 
19th, On the other Hand Monsieur de la Sale was very 
uneasy, on Account of their long Stay. His Impatience made 
him resolve to go himself to find out his People and to 
know the Cause of it. 

This was not done without many previous Tokens of 
Concern, and Apprehension. He seem'd tO' have some 
Presage of his Misfortune, enquiring of some, whether the 
Sieur Liotot, Hiens and Duhaut had not express'd some 
Discontent; and not hearing any Thing of it, he could not 

He zoes to fo'J'bear setting out the 20th, with Father Anastasius and an 

seek them. Indian, leaving me the Command in his Absence, and charg- 
ing me from Time to Time to gO' the Rounds about our 
Camp, to prevent being surpriz'd, and to make a Smoke 
for him tO' direct his Way in Case of Need. When he came 
near the Dwelling of the Murderers, looking out sharp to 
discover something, he observed Eagles fluttering about a 
Spot, not far from them, which made him believe they had 
found some Carrion about the Mansion, and he fired a 
Shot, which was the signal of his Death and forwarded it. 
The Conspirators hearing the Shot, concluded it was 
Monsieur de la Sale, who was come to seek them. They 
made ready their Arms and provided to surprize him. 
Duhaut passed the River, with Larcheveque. The first of 
them spying Monsieur de la Sale at a Distance, as he was 
coming towards them, advanc'd and hid himself among the 
high Weeds, to wait his passing by, so that Monsieur de la 
Sale suspecting nothing, and having not so much as charg'd 
his Piece again, saw the aforesaid Larcheveque at a good 
Distance from him, and immediately ask'd for his Nephew 
Moranget, to which Larcheveque answer'd, That he was 

Is mur- along the River. At the same Time the Traitor Duhaut 
' fired his Piece and shot Monsr. de la Sale thro' the Head, 

so that he dropp'd down dead on the Spot, without speaking 
one Word.^ 

1 This occurred, according to Douay's account, on the 19th March, 
1689. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 135 

Father Auastasiiis, who was then by his Side, stood stock Mar. 1687 
still in a Fright, expecting the same Fate, and not know- 
ing whether he should go forwards or backwards ; but the 
Murderer DuJiant put him out of that Dread, bidding him 
not to fear, for no Hurt was intended him; that it was 
Despair that had prevail'd with him to do what he saw ; that 
he had long desir'd to be revenged on Moranget, because 
he had designed to ruin him, and that he was partly the 
Occasion of his Uncle's Death. This is the exact Relation 
of that Murder, as it was presently after told me by F. 
Ajiastashis. 

Such was the unfortunate End of Monsieur de la Sale's 
Life, at a Time when he might entertain the greatest Hopes, 
as the Reward of his Labours.^ He had a Capacity and His Char- 
Talent to make his Enterprize successful ; his Constancy °^ ^^' 
and Courage and his extraordinary Knowledge in Arts and 
Sciences, which render' d him fit for any Thing, together 
with an indefatigable Body, which made him surmount all 
Difficulties, would have procur'd a glorious Issue to his 
Undertaking, had not all those excellent Qualities been 
counterbalanced by too haughty a Behaviour, which some- 
times made him insupportable, and by a Rigidness towards 
those that were under his Command, which at last drew on 
him an implacable Hatred, and was the Occasion of his 
Death. 

The Shot which had kill'd Monsieur de la Sale, was also 

a Signal of the Murder to the Assassins for them to draw 

near. They all repair'd to the Place where the wretched 

dead Corps lay, which they barbarously strip'd to the Shirt, 

and vented their Malice in vile and opprobrious Language. Barbarity 

The Surgeon Liotot said several Times in Scorn and De- towards the 
° , 7- T «^oa Body. 

rision. There thou best, Great Bassa, there thou best. In 

Conclusion, they dragged it naked among the Bushes, and 

left it exposed to the ravenous Wild Beasts. So far was it 

1 Fr. " dans le temps qu'il y avait tout a esperer des ses grands 
travaux" — at a time when there was the greatest hopes of the suc- 
cess of his enterprise. C. C. edit. 



136 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Mar. 1687 from what a certain Author writes, of their having bury'd 

" him and set up a cross on his Grave.* 

Murderers When those Murderers had satiated their Rage, they set 

return to q^^ ^q come to US at our Camp, with the dry'd Flesh, which 
the Camp. , , , , , , , y t-.- 1 , r j- 

they had caus d to be brought over the River by the Indians, 

who had been Spectators of the Murder and of all the in- 
human Actions that had been committed, with Amazement 
and Contempt of us. When they were come to the Camp, 
they found Messieurs Cavelier, the one Brother, the other 
Nephew to the murder'd Commander, whom Father Anas- 
tasius acquainted with the dismal End of our Chief, and 
enjoyn'd them Silence, which it is easy to imagine was very 
hard upon them; but it was absolutely necessary. 

However, Monsieur Cavelier the Priest, could not for- 
bear telling them, that if they would do the same by him, 
he would forgive them his Murder, and only desir'd them 
to give him a Quarter of an Hour to prepare himself: 
They answer'd. They had Nothing to say to him ; that what 
they had done was the Effect of Despair, to be reveng'd 
for the ill Usage they had receiv'd. 

I was absent at that Time; he they call'd Larcheveque, 
who, as I have said, was one of the Conspirators, had some 
Kindness for me, and knowing they design'd to make me 
away too, if I stood upon my Defence, he parted from them, 
to give me Notice of their Mischievous Resolution. He 
found me on a little rising Ground, where I was looking 
upon our Horses as they graz'd in a little adjacent Bottom. 
His Intelligence struck me to the Heart, not knowing 
whether I should fly or stay; but at length, having neither 
The Author Powder nor Shot, nor Arms, and the said Larcheveque 
^Frie d^ " giving me Assurances of my Life, provided I was quiet and 

1 The author referred to here, is Father Douay, whose statement 
to this effect may be doubted, as Parkman observes that he did not 
" always write honestly," and that he probably invented the story of 
the burial, to cover his own dereliction in having failed (through 
terror) to discharge this duty. See Parkman's La Salle and the Dis- 
covery of the Great West, ii, 176, 178, note, Champlain edition. This 
assassination occurred in a southern branch of the Trinity River. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 137 

said Nothing, I committed my self to God's Protection, and Mar. 1687 

went to them, without taking any Notice of what had been ' 

done. 

Duhaiif, piiff'd up with his new gotten Authority, pro- Duhaut, the 

cur'd him by his Villany, as soon as he saw me, cry'd out, Murderer, 

Every Man ought to command in his Turn ; to which I Command. 

made no Answer; and we were all of us oblig'd to stifle 

our Resentment, that it might not appear, for our Lives 

depended on it. However, it was easy to judge with what 

Eyes Father Anastasins, Messieurs Cavelier and I beheld 

these Murderers, to whom we expected every Moment to fall 

Sacrifices. It is true, we dissembled so well, that they were 

not very suspicious of us, and that the Temptation we were 

under of making them away in Revenge for those they 

had murder'd, would have easily prevail'd and been put in 

Execution, had not Monsieur Cavelier, the Priest, always 

positively oppos'd it, alledging, that we ought to leave 

Vengeance to God. 

However the Murderers seiz'd upon all the Effects, with- ., 

• • , 11 r 1- March 

out any Opposition, and then we began to talk of proceeding continued. 

on our Journey. We decamp'd the 21st, with our hidians, 

and march'd with such a heavy Rain, that we were oblig'd 

to halt on the Bank of a great Stream, where one of the 

Natives that had left us, arriv'd with his Wife. We went 

on the 22d and 23d, and pass'd the River, where Father 

Anastasius, Monsieur Cavelier and I, who could not swim, 

had been drown' d, but that the Natives assisted and sav'd 

us. The 24th, we went on thro' a marshy Countrj^ never 

quitting a small Path which led to the Village of the Cents, 

till the 28th, when we rested on the Bank of a River of the Cenis 

same Name, tho' about ten Leagues distant from the ■^*^'^''- 

Village. 

We had hop'd to ford that River, as Monsieur de la Sale 

had done, when he retum'd from that Country; but it was 

so swollen, that there was no doing it, and we were forced 

to make a Canoe of Bullocks Hides. Whilst we were 



138 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Mar. 1687 employ'd at that Work, the Indians swam over and went to 
give Notice to the Cenis of our Arrival 

We found the Country pleasant enough about that River, 
tho' the Land did not seem to be any of the best; but still 
it was delightful to the Eye, well planted with fine Trees of 
several Sorts, among which, is one that Monsieur de la Sale 
Copal had nam'd Copal, being very beautiful, the Leaves of it 

Tree. between those of the Maple and the lime^ Trees in Re- 

semblance, and from it comes a Gum, of a very agreeable 
Scent. In the same Place we saw a great Tree, on which 
the late Monsieur de la Sale had caus'd Crosses and the 
Arms of France to be carv'd. 

The Hunting of Bullocks had fail'd us, and we had seen 
none from the Place where our late Leader had been mur- 
der' d. Thus our Provisions began to fall short, and it was 
resolv'd on the 29th, to send some Men before, to^ the Vil- 
lage of the Cenis, to know, whether they had any Indian 
The Author Corn, and were willing to barter for it. I was appointed, 
sent to the -yyith the Surgeon Liotot, the Teisieers, and Heins, who was 
Provisions, a Buccanier, Monsieur de la Sale had taken up at Petit 
Gouave, to go with him upon this Expedition. I was very 
unwilling to undertake that Journey, with a Murderer and 
two of his Companions, of whom I was suspicious; but it 
was very requisite to obey, and Duhaut having all the 
Effects in his Possession, alledging, that a great part of them 
belong'd to him, he gave us some Axes and Knives to 
barter for Indian Corn, as also for Horses, if any were to 
be had, and accordingly we pass'd the River. 
The Coun- We found the Country made up of several little Hills, of 

try de- ^^ indifferent Height, on which there are Abundance of 
scnb d. 

Wallnut-Trees and Oaks, not so large as what we had seen 

before, but very agreeable. The Weeds which had been 

some Time before burnt by the Natives, began to spring 

up again, and discover'd large green Fields very pleasing to 

the Sight. 

ipr. "Tilleul." 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 139 

When we had traveird some Time, we discover'd three Mar. 1687 
Men a Horseback, coming towards us from the Village, and ' 

being come near them, saw one dress'd after the Spanish ^ Man 
Fashion, with a little Doublet, the Body whereof was of Spaniard ** 
blue, and the Sleeves of white Fustian, as it were im-^ 
broider'd, with very streight Breeches, white worsted Stock- 
ings, Woollen-Garters, a broad-brim'd, flat-crown'd Hat, 
and long Hair. We presently concluded he was a Spaniard, 
and the rather because we had been told, that some of them 
were to come tO' join in League with the Cenis, against an 
Enemy nation, and we were at a Nonplus ; for if we fell into 
their Hands, we must never expect to get away, but be con- 
demn'd to serve either in the Mines, or in the Quarries, in 
the Kingdom of Mexico, for which Reason we provided to 
give the pretended Spaniard an unkind Reception, and then 
to make the best of our Way back. 

Being come up to him, I spoke some Words of Spanish 
and Italian, to^ which he return'd no^ Answer; but on the 
contrary, made use of the Word Conssica, which in the 
Language of the Cenis, signifies, / do not understand you ; 
which Answer of his remov'd our Apprehensions. The 
two others were quite naked, one of them being mounted on 
a fine grey Mare, and on her were besides two Panniers, 
handsomely made of Reeds, full of very fine Meal parch'd, 
or roasted. After several Questions, to which we had no 
very satisfactory Answers, we lighted Fire to make them 
smoke, and then they presented us with the two Panniers 
full of Meal, giving us to understand, that their Chief ex- 
pected us in the Village, and having signify'd, that they 
were sent to meet us, we gave them some Knives and 
Strings of Beads. 

We ask'd them, whether they had any Men among them 
like him that was a Horseback in the Spanish Habit, they 
answer'd, there were two in a Neighboring Nation, call'd 
Assony, and that he who was clad, had been in their Coun- 
try, and brought thence the Cloaths we saw him wear. 
That Man then shew'd us a Spanish printed Paper, con- 



I40 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



Mar. 1687 



The Cenis 
meet the 
French in 
solemn 
Manner. 



taining the Indulgences granted to the Missioners of New 
Mexico. After this they left us to go on, to our People, 
for which Reason I writ a Note, giving an Account of our 
having met them. 

We alighted to eat, and let our Horses graze on the 
Bank of a Rivulet; but it was not long before the same 
Natives, who had been with us before, appear'd again hard 
by us. We made Signs to them to draw near and eat with 
us; which they did, and then went along with us towards 
the Village, which we would not go into, because it was 
Night. The Indian that was clad, stay'd all Night with us, 
and the two others went away. 

When it was Day, we held on our Way to the Village; 
the Indian that was with us conducting us to their Chief's 
Cottage. By the Way, we saw many other Cottages, and 
the Elders coming to meet us in their Formalities,^ which 
consisted in some Goats Skins dress'd and painted of sev- 
eral Colours, which they wore on their Shoulders like Belts, 
and Plumes of Feathers of several Colours, on their Heads, 
like Coronets. Six or seven of them had square Sword 
Blades, like the Spanish, on the Hilts whereof they had 
fasten'd great Plumes of Feathers, and several Hawks 
Bells; some of them had Clubs, which they call Head- 
breakers, some only their Bows and Arrows f others, Bits 
of White Linen, reaching from Shoulder to Shoulder. All 
their Faces were daub'd with black or red. There were 
twelve Elders, who walk'd in the Middle, and the Youth 
and Warriors in Ranks, on the Sides of those old Men. 

Being come up to us in that Manner, he that conducted 
us, made a Sign for us to halt, which when we had done, 
all the old Men lifted up their Right Hands above their 
Heads, crying out in a most ridiculous Manner; but it 
behov'd us to have a Care of laughing. That done, they 



1 Trappings. The Fr. word used here is " ajustemens." 

2 Fr. " d'autre leurs arcs & deux fleches seulement," — " others their 
bows & two arrows only." [d'autre is a misprint for " d'autres."] 
C. C. edit. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 141 

came and imbrac'd us, using all Sorts of Endearments. Mar. 1687 
Then they made us smoke, and brought to us a French ^ French 
Man of Provence, who was one of those that had forsaken Man among 
the late Monsieur de la Sale, at his first Journey.^ 

The whole Company conducted us after the same Manner, 
to their Chief's Cottage; and after we had staid there a 
short Time, they led us to a larger Cottage, a Quarter of 
a League from thence, being the Hut in which they have 
their publick Rejoycings, ,and the great Assemblies. We Indian En- 
found it furnish'd with Mats for us to sit on. The Elders ^^''^«*»«^^»^- 
seated themselves round about us, and they brought us to . 
eat, some Sagamite, which is their Pottage, little Beans, 
Bread made of Indian Corn, and another Sort they make 
with boil'd Flower, and at last they made us smoke. 

During our Repast, they entertain'd us with the Dis- 
course of their Design to make War on a Nation, who were 
their Enemies, and whom they call'd Cannohantimo. When 
it was over, we presented them, according to Custom, with 
some Knives and Strings of Beads for their Wives. We 
desir'd them to afford us some Indian Corn, in Exchange 
for other Things, which they promis'd, and the French 
Man who was with them, having told us, that there was a 
District, which afforded more Corn, than that where we 
were, and where his Cottage was, we resolv'd to go thither. 
We propos'd it to the Elders, who would needs go along 
with us, attended by a great Number of Youth, and having 
got ready our Horses, we set out for that Place. 

B}^ the Way, we saw several Cottages at certain Dis- 
tances, stragling up and down,^ as the Ground happens to 
be fit for Tillage. The Field lies about the Cottage, and at 
other Distances,^ there are other large Huts, not inhabited, 

1 Fr. " II nous fit bien des caresses, il estoit tout nud, comme eux, 
& ce qui est surprenant, il avoit presque oublie son langage naturel." 
— " He gave us many caresses : he was, like them, quite naked ; and 
what is remarkable, he had almost forgotten his native tongue." m. b. a. 

2 Fr. " pav halneaux " — probably a misprint for " hameaux " — ham- 
lets. M. B. A. 

3 Fr. " d'espace en espace " — at intervals. 



142 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



Mar. 1687 



Huts and 
Families 
in them. 



Manner of 
Building. 



Their 

moveables. 



Beds. 



Tillage. 



but only serving for publick Assemblies, either upon Oc- 
casion of Rejoycings, or to consult about Peace and War. 

The Cottages that are inhabited, are not each of them 
for a private Family, for in some of them there are fifteen or 
twenty, each of which has its Nook or Corner, Bed and 
other Utensils to its self; but without any Partition to 
separate it from the rest: However, they have Nothing 
in Common besides the Fire, which is in the Midst of the 
Hut, and never goes out. It is made of great Trees, the 
Ends whereof are laid together, so that when once lighted, 
it lasts a long Time, and the first Comer takes Care to keep 
it up. 

The Cottages are round at the Top, after the Manner 
of a Bee-Hive, or a Reek of Hay, Some of them are sixty 
Foot Diameter. In Order to build them, they plant Trees 
as thick as a Man's Thigh, tall and strait, and placing them 
in a Circle, and joyning the Tops together, form the Dome, 
or round Top, then they lath and cover them with Weeds, 
When they remove their Dwellings, they generally burn 
the Cottages they leave, and build new on the Ground they 
design to inhabit. 

Their Movables are some Bullocks Hides and Goats Skins 
well cur'd, some Mats close wove, wherewith they adorn 
their Huts, and some Earthen Vessels, which they are very 
skilful at making, and wherein they boil their Flesh or 
Roots, or Sagamite, which, as has been said, is their Pottage. 
They have also some small Baskets made of Canes, serving 
to put in their Fruit and other Provisions. Their Beds are 
made of Canes, rais'd two or three Foot above the Ground, 
handsomely fitted with Mats and Bullocks Hides, or Goats 
Skins well cur'd, which serve them for Feather Beds, or 
Quilts and Blankets cured with the hair on, to serve as 
mattresses and bedclothes; and those Beds are parted one 
from another by Mats hung up. 

When they design to Till the Ground, they give one 
another Notice, and very often above an Hundred of each 
Sex meet together. When they have till'd that Piece of 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 143 

Land, after their Manner, and spent part of the Day, those 

the Land belongs to, give the others to Eat, and then they °^' 1_ 



spend the rest of the Day in Dancing and Merry Making. 
This same is practis'd from Canton to Canton, and so they 
till Land all together. 

This Tillage consists in breaking up just the Surface of . 
the Earth with a Sort of Wooden Instrument, like a little for Tilling. 
Pick-axe, which they make by splitting the End of a thick 
Piece of Wood, that serves for a Handle, and putting 
another Piece of Wood sharp Pointed at one End intO' the 
Slit, This Instrument serves them instead of a Hoe, or 
Spade, for they have no Iron Tools. When the Land has j^^w^n 
been thus till'd or broke up, the Women Sow and Plant the sow. 
Indian Corn, Beans, Pompions, Water Melons, and other 
Grain and Garden Ware, which is for their Sustenance. 

The Indians are generally Handsom, but disfigure them- j ,. 
selves by making Scores, or Streaks on their Faces, from disfigure 
the Top of the Forehead down the Nose tO' the Tip of the ^^^'"^^e^'ves. 
Chin ; which is done by pricking the Skin with Needles, or 
other sharp Instruments, till it bleeds, whereon they strew 
line Powder of Charcoal, and that sinks in and mixes with 
the Blood within the Skin. They also make after the same 
Manner, the Figures of living Creatures, of Leaves and 
Flowers on their Shoulders, Thighs, and other Parts of their 
Bodies, and Paint themselves, as has been said before, with 
Black or Red, and sometimes both together. 

The Women are generally well Shap'd, and would not ru- ^ 
be disagreeable, did they adhere to Nature; but they Dis- 
guise themselves as ridiculously as the Men, not only with 
the Streak they have like them down their Face, but by other 
Figures they make on it, at the Corners of their Eyes, and 
on the other Parts of their Bodies; whereof they make 
more particular Show on their Bosom, and those who have 
the most, are reckoned the handsomest ; tho' that pricking in 
that Part be extremely painful to them. 

It is they that do all the Work^ in the Cottage, either in 

1 Fr. "presque tout le travail" — almost all the work. 



144 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



Work 
Home. 



Their Be- 
haviour. 



Mar. 1687 Pounding the Indian Corn and Baking the Meal, or making 

j,^ , TT^ the Pottage of the said Meal, by them call'd Sagamite, or in 
at dressing their other Provisions, or drying or parching, or 
smoaking their Flesh, fetching the Wood they have Occa- 
sion for, or the Flesh of Bullocks, or other Beasts kill'd by 
their Husbands in the Woods, which are often at a great 
Distance, and afterwards Dressing them as has been said. 
They Sow and Plant, when the Land has been broke up, 
and in short, do almost all that is requisite for the Support 
of Life. 

I did not observe that those Women were naturally 
given to Lewdness; but their Virtue is not Proof against 
some of our Toys, when presented them, as Needles, 
Knives, and more particularly Strings of Beads, whereof 
they make Necklaces and Bracelets, and that Temptation 
is rarely resisted by them, and the less because they have 
no Religion or Law to prohibit that vile Practice. It is 
true their Husbands, when they take them in the Fact, 
sometimes do punish them, either by Separation or other- 
wise ; but that is rare. 

Habits. The Country of those Indians being generally subject to 

no Cold, almost all of them go naked; unless when the 
North Wind blows, then they cover themselves with a Bul- 
lock's Hide, or Goat's Skin cur'd. The Women wear noth- 
ing but a Skin, Mat, or Clout, hanging round them like 
a Petticoat, and reaching down half way their Legs, which 
hides their Nakedness before and behind. On their Heads 
they have nothing but their Hair platted and knotted 
behind. 

Manners. -^^ ^^^ their Manners, it may be said of these as of all 

other Indians of that great Continent, that they are not 
Mischievous, unless wrong'd or attack'd; in which Case 
they are all Fierce and Revengeful. They Watch all Op- 
portunities to be Reveng'd, and never let any slip, when 
offer'd, which is the Cause of their being continually at 
War with their Neighbours, and of that Martial Humour, 
so Predominant among them. 



/w/o NORTH AMERICA. 145- , 

As to the Knovvledge of a God, they did not seem to us Mar. 1687 
to have any fix'd Notion of Him ; it is true, we met with '^^^Z^ 
some on our Way, who as far as we could judge, beHev'd, 
there was some Superior Being, which was above all 
Things, and this they testify'd by lifting up their Hands 
and Eyes to Heaven, yet without any Manner of Concern, 
as believing that the said exalted Being does not regard at 
all, what is done here below. However none of them hav- 
ing any Places of Worship, Ceremonies, or Prayers, to de- 
note the divine Homage, it may be said of them all, that 
they have no Religion, at least those that we saw. 

However, they observe some Ceremonies; but whether Ceremo- 
they have any Regard to a real or pretended Superior "*"• 
Being, or whether they are only popular, and proceeding 
from Custom, is what we were not able to discover. Those 
Ceremonies are as follows. When the Com is ripe, they 
gather a certain Quantity in a Maund or Basket, which is 
placed on a Sort of Seat or Stool, dedicated to that Use, 
and serving only upon those misterious Occasions, which 
they have a great Veneration for. 

The Basket with the Corn being placed on that honour'd 
Stool, one of the Elders holds out his Hands over it, and 
talks a long Time; after which, the said old Man dis- 
tributes the Corn among the Women, and no Person is al- 
low'd to eat of the new Corn, till eight Days after that 
Ceremony. This seems to be in the Nature of Offering up 
or Blessing the first Fruits of their Harvest. 

At their Assemblies, when the Sagamite, or Pottage, 
which is the most essential Part of their meal, is boil'd in 
a great Pot, they place that Pot on the Stool of Ceremony 
above mention' d, and one of the Elders stretches out his 
Hands over it, muttering some Words between his Teeth 
for a considerable Time, after which, they fall to eat. 

When the young Folks are grown up to be fit to go to 
the Wars, and take upon them to be Soldiers, their Gar- 
ment, consisting of some Skin, or Clout, together with 
their Bow, Quiver and Arrows, is placed on the aforesaid 
10 



146 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



Mar. 1687 



Tobacco. 



Nation, 
what is 
meant here 
by it. 



Names of 
Nations. 



Stool, an old Man stretches out his Hands over them, mut- 
ters the Words as above, and then the Garments, Bows, 
Quivers, and Arrows are given to the Persons they belong 
to. This may be compar'd to Something of a Ceremony 
of Knighting among them. The same Ceremonies are 
us'd by them in the cultivating of their Grain and Product, 
but particularly of the Tabacco, whereof they have a Sort, 
which has smaller Leaves than Ours; it is almost ever 
green and they use it in Leaves. 

This is what we observ'd among the Cenis, whose Cus- 
toms and Manners differ very little from those of other 
Nations, which we had seen before, and saw afterwards. 
As to the Point of Religion, it is not to be infer' d from 
what I have said above, that there is none throughout that 
vast Continent: The Account I have given only regards 
those Nations we saw ; there may be others that have some 
Worship, and I remember I have heard Monsieur de la 
Sale say, that the Nation call'd Takensa, neighbouring on 
the Islinois, ador'd the Fire, and that they had Cottages 
which they made use of, as Temples. 

Before I conclude this short Account of the Religion, 
Customs and Manners of the Cenis, which belong'd prop- 
erly to this Place, it is fit here also to observe, that the 
Word Nation, is not to be understood, among those 
Indians, to denote a People possessing a whole Province, 
or vast Extent of Land. Those Nations are no other than 
a Parcel of Villages, dispers'd for the Space of fifteen, 
of twenty or of thirty Leagues at most, which compose a 
distinct People or Nation; and they differ from one an- 
other rather in Language than in Manners, wherein they 
are all much alike, or at least they vary but little, as has 
been mention'd above. As for the Names of them, here 
follow those of such as we travel'd through, or were near 
the Way we held from our leaving our Habitation near 
the Bay of the Holy Ghost, till we came among the Cenis. 

The Spicheafs, Kabayes, Thecamons, Thearemets, Kia~ 
baha, Chaumenes, Kouans, Arhau, Enepiahe, Ahonerhopir 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 147 

hcim, Koienkahc, Konkone, Omcaosse, Keremcn, Ahe- Mar. 1687 
kouen, Mcghty, Tctamcncs, Otcnmarhcn, Kouayon and 
Alcra-counian. All these Nations are on the North of the 
River called la Meligne. Those that follow, are on the 
West and North- West of the same River. 

The Kannchouan, Tohaha, Pihir, Cagabcgux, Onapien, 
Pickar, Tokaii, Kiiasses, Chancres, Teserabocretes, Tsepe- 
houen, Fercouteha, Panego, Petao, Petzare, Peisacho, Pei- 
houn, Orcan and Piou} This last Nation borders upon 
the Cenis, at the Entrance intO' whose first Village I left 
my Reader, to give an Account of the Inhabitants, and 
thither I return, to proceed with my Relation and our Jour- 
ney to the Village, the French Man who liv'd among the 
Natives was tO' conduct us tO'. 

We arriv'd there at Night, and found other Elders com- 
ing out to meet us, much after the same Manner as the 
others mention'd before. They led us tO' their Cottage, 
made us sit down on Mats and smoke, but not with so 
much Ceremony as the others. That done, it was Time 
for us to take our Rest, having given them to understand 
that we were weary. 

The French Provencal would needs have us go to his French 
Cottage, that is to the Hut where he had his Dwelling; fy^f"'"^ 
for, as I have said, there are several Families in one of Natives. 
them, and that was one of the greatest in the Canton, hav- 
ing been the Habitation of one of their Chief's, lately 
deceased. 

They allotted us a Place there, for our Goods and Packs, 
the Women immediately made Sagamite or Pottage, and 

1 Takensa, Fr. Tahenssa 

Enepiahe, " Enepiahas 

Ahonerhopiheim, " Ahouerhopiheim 

Ahekouen, " Ahehoilen 

Meghty, " Megliey 

Kouayon, " KoUayan 

Cagabegux, " Coyabegux 

Pickar, " Pichar 

Tokau, " Tohau 

Peihoun, " Peihoum 



148 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Apr. 1687 gave it us. Having eaten, v^e ask'd the French Man 
whether M^e were safe, and he answering we were, we lay 
down, but yet could not sleep sound. 

The next Day, being the first of April, the Elders came 
to receive and conducted us to the Cottage where we had 
been the Day before. After the usual Ceremonies, we 
traded with them for Com, Meal and Beans, giving in 
Exchange for the same. Needles, Knives, Rings and other 
'A Horse Toys. We also purchased a very fine Stone Horse,^ that 
so^d for an ^^^i^j j^g^^^ j^g^j^ worth twenty Pistoles in France, for an 
Ax. 

The Day was spent in driving our small Bargains and 
gathering Provisions, which the Women brought. When 
that was done, it was agreed, that I should remain there, 
to lay up more Store, and that the others should return to 
our Company, which we had left near the River, to carry 
the Provisions and satisfy them they might come safely. 

Tho' I thought my self not over secure among the In- 
dians, and besides had the Dissatisfaction of understand- 
ing none of their Language; yet was I not unwilling to 
stay, that I might have an Opportunity of seeing the two 
other French Men, who had forsaken the late Monsieur 
de la Sale, when he first travell'd into that Country, that I 
might enquire of them, whether they had heard no talk of 
the Missisipi River, for I still held my Resolution of part- 
ing from our wicked Murderers. 

As soon as they were gone, I gave a young Indian a 
Knife, to go bid those twoi other French Men come to me, 
and whilst he was going I drove on my little Trade for 
Provisions, and had frequent Visits from the Elders, who 
entertain'd me by Signs, with an Account of their intended 
War; to which I still answer'd, nodding my Head, tho' 
very often I knew not what they meant. It was some Dif- 
ficulty to me to secure my small Merchandize, especially at 
Night, for the Natives were covetous of them. 

1 Fr. un cheval entier et fort beau " — a very handsome entire horse. 
C. C. edit.: i. e., a stallion. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 149 

This Care, which kept me from Sleeping- sound, was the Apr. 1687 
Occasion, that one Night I heard some Body moving near 
my Bed, and opening my Eyes, by the Light of the Fire, 
which never goes out in those Cottages, perceiv'd a Man 
stark naked, with a Bow and two Arrows in his Hand, The Author 
who came and sat down by me, without saying any Thing. ^^^^^ °"' 
I view'd him for some Time, I spoke tO' him, he made me French 
no Answer, and not knowing what to think of it, I laid ffi*^^ i°^ans. 
hold of my two Pistols and my Firelock, which the Man 
perceiving, he went and sat by the Fire. I follow'd, and 
looking steadfastly on him, he knew and spoke to me, 
throwing his Arms about and embracing me, and then 
made himself known to be one of the French Men I had 
sent for. 

We fell into Discourse, I ask'd him for his Comrade, he 
told me, he durst not come, for Fear of Monsieur de la 
Sale. They were both Sailors, this Man, who was of 
Britany, was call'd Ruter; the other, of Rochelle, Grollet. 
They had, in that short Space of Time, so perfectly enur'd 
themselves to the Customs of the Natives, that they were 
become meer Savages. They were naked, their Faces and French 

tUTft d 

Bodies with Figures wrought on them, like the rest. They savage. 
had taken several Wives, been at the Wars and kill'd their 
Enemies with their Firelocks, which had gain'd them Repu- 
tation; but having no more Powder nor Ball, their Arms 
were grown useless, and they had been forc'd to learn to 
shoot with Bows and Arrows. As for Religion, they were 
not troubled with much of it, and that Libertine Life they 
led, was pleasing to them. 

I acquainted this Man with the unfortunate Death of 
Monsr. de la Sale, his Nephew and the rest, at which, he 
was surpris'd and concern' d, at least in outward Appear- 
ance. I ask'd him, whether he had not heard talk of the 
Missisipi ; he told me he had not ; but only that there was a 
great River forty Leagues from thence towards the A^. IV} 

1 Fr. Nord'oiiest " — Northwest. 



150 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Apr. 1687 where the Natives said there were many Nations along its 
Banks. That made me believe, it was the very River we 
were in Search of, or at least that it must be the Way to 
come at it. I gave him to eat, and we went to Rest. 

The next and the following Days, I continu'd trading, 
and the Elders their Visits, and their Discourse by Signs, 
concerning their intended War. Some of them gave me to 
understand, that they had been among the Spaniards, who 
are nevertheless about two' hundred Leagues from them. 
They spoke some Words of broken Spanish, as Capita, in- 
stead of Capitan, a Captain, and Cohavillo instead of Ca- 
vallo, a Horse, and so of some others. Ruter, the French 
Man retum'd to his Dwelling, I gave him some Strings of 
Beads for his Wives, and desir'd him to send the other 
French Man to me. 
Indian In the mean Time my being alone, as to any Person I 

brought to ^^^^^ converse with, grew very irksome to me, and I know 
the Author, not whether an old Man did not perceive it ; for he thought 
it would be proper to bring a Companion, to divert me, 
and at Night I was surpris'd to see a young Maid come 
sit down by me, and to hear the old Man tell me, he had 
brought her to be my Wife, and gave her to me ; but I had 
far different Thoughts tO' disturb me. I spoke not one 
Word to that poor Maid; she stay'd some Time expecting 
I would take notice of her, and perceiving I did not stir, or 
speak one Word, she withdrew. 
French Thus I continu'd, without hearing any News, till the 

Sdkn?^ Sixth of April, when the two French Men, I have spoken 
of, came both, in the Indian Dress, each of them having 
only a Clout about him, some Turky Feathers on their 
Shoulders, their Heads and Feet bare. The latter of them 
whose name was Grollet, had not consented to have his 
Face mark'd like the other, nor to cut his Hair after the 
Indian Manner; for those People cut off all theirs, except 
a small Lock on the Crown of the Head, like the Turks, 
only some of them have small Tresses on the Temples. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 151 

I repeated to them the Narrative of Monsieur de la Apr. 1687 
Sale's unfortunate Story. They confirm'd what I had 
been told before, that the Natives had talk'd to them of 
the great River, which was forty Leagues off, towards the 
N. E. and that there were People like us, that dwelt on the 
Banks of it. This confirm'd me in the Opinion, that it was 
the River so much sought after, and that we must go that 
Way to return to Canada or towards New England. They 
told me, they would willingly go with us. I desired them 
to keep it secret, which they did not, for being inform'd 
that Monsieur Cavelier and the others were coming, they 
Avent to meet them, and I was again left alone. 

The 8th, three Men came to me, one of which was the The Mur- 
French Man of Provence, with each of them a Horse, sent ^^/^^ ^^ ^^. 
by our People toi carry away all the Provisions I had got ^^".'? *^^ 
together, having taken a Resolution, as those Persons they qj 5^ 
had sent told us, to return to the Dwelling of St. Lewis, Lewis, 
about the Bay of the same Name, from whence we came; 
designing, as they pretended, to build a Boat there, to carry 
them over to the Islands of America', an impracticable No- 
tion, for all our Carpenters were dead, and tho' they had 
been alive, they were so ignorant, that none of them would 
have known which Way to go about that Work; besides 
that, we were destitute of all Necessaries for that Effect. 
However we must obey, and set out with our Provisions. 
The Rain having detain' d us the 9th on the Way, we could 
not come up to them till the next Day, being the Tenth. 

Father Anastasius gave me the Confirmation of that De- 
sign, and farther told me how roughly they had been 
treated by those Murderers since my Departure. I know 
not what it was that mov'd them to it, but they had re- 
solved to seperate themselves from those Villains, and that 
we should eat apart, zns. Monsieur Cavelier the Priest, F. 
Anastasius, young Cavelier and I, which was very agree- 
able to us, because at least we could talk freely, which we 
durst not do before ; but at the same Time they allow' d us 



152 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



and others 
resolve to 
part from 
the Mur- 
derers. 



Design of 
the Mur- 
derers. 



Apr. 1687 no more Provisions than would suffice to keep us from 
.starving, without giving us Share of any Flesh, tho' they 
often kill'd. 

The Author Our Tyrants still holding their Resolution to return to 
their former Habitation, thought they had not Horses 
enough, and therefore deputed four of their Number, one 
of which was the French Man half turn'd Indian^ to return 
to the Village of the Cenis and endeavour to barter for 
some. At the same Time we agreed together to let thase 
Gentlemen know, that we were too much fatigued to re- 
turn with them to the said Habitation, and were resolved 
to remain in the Village of the Cenis. Monsieur Cavelier 
undertook to be our Speaker, and to desire Duhaut, who 
was Master of all, to give us some Axes, Knives and 
Strings of Beads, Powder and Shot, offering to give him a 
Note of his Hand for the same. 

To conclude. Monsieur Cavelier made the Proposal to 
Duhaut, disguis'd it the best he was able, and Duhaut took 
till the next Day to return his answer. He consulted with 
his Companions, and acquainted us, that they would deal 
handsomely by us, and give us half the Effects and all the 
Axes, intending to make the most Speed they could, to. get 
to our former Dwelling, and to put in Execution what they 
had before design'd, as to the Building of a Bark. But in 
Case they could not succeed, for want of Necessaries, they 
would immediately return to us and bring F. Zenobius 
along with them, who would be serviceable to us, because, 
having been with Monsieur de la Sale upon his first Dis- 
covery, he understood the Language of the Nations about 
the Missisipi River. That whilst they were upon that 
Journey, we should take Care to gather a Stock of Pro- 
visions, and that if they succeeded in building the Bark, 
they would send us Word, that we might repair to them. 
Monsieur Cavelier approv'd of all they said, tho' we had 
other Designs. However it prov'd we were all Mistaken, 
for Providence had order'd Affairs otherwise. 

We stay'd there some Time, expecting those who were 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 153 

gone to the Cents, they staying longer than was requisite May 1687 
for that Journey. The overflowing of the River was their 
Pretence, but the true Reason was the Women, who as I 
have said, are not so forward as to offer themselves, but on 
the other Hand will not be over difficult in complying for 
some little Present, and those who were sent did not grudge 
their Time. In the mean while the Posture of our Affairs 
changed, as follows. 

One of our half Savage French Men, whom I had ac- Murderers 
quainted with our Design to go find the Missisipi, com- '^^"."^^. 
municated it to Hautot,^ telling him all the particulars he 
had before acquainted me with ; whereupon Duhaut chang'd 
his Mind, as to the Design of going to the Habitation of 
St. Lewis, resolving to follow our intended Way and exe- 
cute our Project. He imparted his Thoughts to his Com- 
panions, who were of the same Opinion, and all of them 
acquainted us, that they were ready to put in Execution 
the Enterprize we had form'd. 

This Change troubled us very much, there being nothing 
we coveted more than to part with those Miscreants, from 
whom we could at a long Run expect no better Usage than 
they had afforded our Commander and his Friends. How- 
ever, it was still requisite to dissemble, there being no other 
Remedy at that Time : But God's Justice provided for and 
rescued us. We continued in that Camp all the remain- 
ing part of April, expecting the Persons that had been sent 
to the Cenis, and Duhaut intending to begin to put in Exe- 
cution his Design of going to find out the Missisipi, with 
us, made us advance towards the River that was near, in 
order to pass it as soon as fallen, and repair to the Village 
of the Cenis. 

We staid three Days longer in that Post, at the End Murderers 
whereof, he we call'd Larcheveque, one of those that had ^^f^. *'" 
been sent out, cross'd the River. He was DuJtaufs Crea- 
ture, and an Accomplice in the Murder of Monsieur de la 

1 This name, although same in French original, is probably a mis- 
print for Lei tot. 



154 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

May 1687. Sale. He inform'd^ Duhaut, that one they call'd Hiens, 
~ who was also one of our Messengers, and had stayed on 
the other Side of the River, had heard of Duhaut and the 
rest altering their Resolution, and that he was not of their 
Mind. Hiens was a Buccanier, and by Birth a German. 
Monsieur de la Sale had brought him from Petit Gouave, 
and he was also accessary to the late Murders. 

After we had been some Days longer in the same Place, 

Hiens arriv'd with the two half Savage French Men and 

about twenty Natives. He went immediately to Duhaut, 

and after some Discourse, told him, he was not for going 

towards the Missisipi, because it would be of dangerous 

Consequence for them, and therefore demanded his Share 

of the Effects he had seiz'd upon. Duhaut refusing to 

comply, and affirming, that all the Axes were his own; 

Hiens Hiens, who it is likely had laid the Design before to kill 

kills Du- hini, immediately drew his Pistol, and fired^ it upon Duhaut, 

Ruter who stagger' d about four Paces from the Place and fell 

Liotot. down dead. At the same Time Ruter, who had been with 

Hiens, fired his Piece upon Liotot, the Surgeon, and shot 

him thro' with three Balls. 

These Murders committed before us, put me intO' a ter- 
rible Consternation; for believing the same was design'd 
for me, I laid hold of my Fire-Lock to defend my self ; but 
Hiens cry'd out to me, to fear nothing, to lay down my 
Arms, and assur'd me he had no Design against me; but 
that he had reveng'd his Master's Death. He also satis- 
fy'd Monsieur Cavelier and Father Anastasius, who were 
as much frighted as my self, declaring he meant them no 
Harm, and that tho' he had been in the Conspiracy, yet had 
he been present at the Time when Monsieur de la Sale was 
kill'd, he would not have consented, but rather have ob- 
structed it. 

Liotot liv'd some Hours after, and had the good Fortune 
to make his Confession; after which, the same Ruter, put 

1 Fr. " II apprit de Duhaut " — He learned from Duhaut. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 155 

liim out of his Pain, with a Pistol-Shot. We dug a Hole May 1687 
in the Earth, and bnry'd him in it with Duhaut, doing them 
more Honour than they had done to Monsieur de la Sale 
and his Nephew Moranget, whom' they left tO' be devour'd 
by wild Beasts. Thus those Murderers met with what they 
had deserv'd, dying the same Death they had put others to. 

The Natives, Hiens had brought with him, having been 
Spectators of that Murder, were in a Consternation, and 
that Ajffair was of dangerous Consequence to us, who stood 
in Need of them;. It was therefore requisite tO' make the More Mis- 
best ef it, giving them to understand, that there had been ^J^fg/^^~ 
Reason for so punishing those dead Persons, because they 
had all the Powder and Ball, and would not give any to 
the rest. They remain'd satisfy'd with that Excuse, and 
he who was called Larcheveqive , and who was entirely de- 
voted to Duhaut, being Abroad a hunting since the Morn- 
ing, and not knowing what Misfortune had hapned his 
Protector, and Hiens being resolv'd to make away with 
him, Father Anastasius and Monsieur Caz^elier took so 
much Pains, that they disswaded him from it, and I went 
out and met Larcheveque, to give him Notice of that Dis- 
aster, and to inform him, how he was to behave himself. 
Thus I requited him for having come tO' give me Notice of 
Monsieur de la Sale's Death, I brought him to Hiens, 
who declar'd he design'd him no Harm, and Larcheveque 
gave him the same Assurances on his Part. Thus all 
Things are again compos'd, and nothing remain'd, but for 
us to set out, but first to know what we were to do, and 
which Way to direct our Course. 

Hereupon, Heins took upon him to speak, and said, he 
had promis'd the Natives to go to' the War with them, and 
design'd to be as good as his Word ; that if we would ex- 
pect his Return, we might by that Time consider which 
Way he would move,^ and that in the mean Time we 

_ ^ That we might see what direction we could take [t. e., take informa- 
tion as to their future line of march], m. b. a. 



156 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



May 1687 



Six French 
Men go to 
the Wars 
with the 
Natives. 



Bewailing 
the Memory 
of Men 
kill'd. 



might stay in the Village among the Cenis. This was re- 
solv'd on; we loaded all our Effects on our Horses, and 
repair'd to the same Place and the same Cottage, where 
we had been before, the Chief of it assigning us the one 
Half to lodge and lay up our Baggage. 

When the Day for setting out for the War was come, 
Hiens departed with the Natives, four of our Comrades 
and the two half Savage French Men going along with 
him' ; so that there were six of them, and each took a Horse. 
Hiens left us all the Effects, and desir'd we would stay for 
him, which we promis'd, not knowing how to avoid it, con- 
sidering, that the Indians might have done us Harm, and 
even have obstructed our Departure. Thus we resign'd 
ourselves to Providence, and remain' d six of us together, 
zn2. Father Anastasius, Monsieur Cavelier, his Nephew 
young Cavelier, young Talon, another Youth of Paris, 
and I. There also remain'd some old Men, who could not 
go to the War, and the Women. We were also join'd by 
two other French Men, who had been left on the other Side 
the River, being the Provencal and one Teissier. 

During our Stay, and our Warriors being abroad upon 
that Expedition, the old Men often visited us, and told us 
News from the Army by Signs, which we understood 
nothing of. We were from Time to Time alarm'd, seeing 
the Women weep, without any visible cause. The late 
Monsieur de la Sale had often told us, that the Women 
bewail'd those that were to be kill'd ; but we were inform'd, 
that they did so, when they call'd to Mind some who had 
been slain in the former Wars ; which dispell'd our Appre- 
hensions. However we were uneasy, because those old 
Men and Women examined us every Morning and Evening 
when we perform'd our Devotions. 

We laid hold of that Opportunity to give them to under- 
stand, that we paid our Duty to one God, the only Supreme 
Sovereign of all Things, pointing to Heaven, and endeav- 
ouring in the best Manner we were able, to signify to 
them that he was Almighty, that he had made all Things, 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 157 

that he caus'd the Earth to produce, it's Fruits to prosper, May 1687 
and the Growth of it, which maintain'd theni to thrive; 
but this being only by Signs, they did not understand us, 
and we labour'd in vain. 

The 1 8th, we were surpriz'd to see several Women come Women re- 
into our Cottage, their Faces all besmear'd with Earth, and ^'^/S^ °^ 
they set up their Throats, singing several Songs as loud 
as they were able,^ whereof we understood not one Word. 
That done, they fell a Dancing in a Ring, and we could not 
tell, what to think of that Rejoicing, which lasted full three 
Hours; after which we were inform'd, they had receiv'd 
Advice of the Victory obtain'd by their Warriors over their 
Enemies. The Dance concluded, those in the Cottage gave 
some Bits of Tobacco to those without. 

The same Day, about Noon, we saw him that had brought 
the News, who afifirm'd they had kill'd at least Forty of 
their Enemies. After the Rejoicing, all the Women ap- 
ply'd themselves to make ready their Provisions, some to 
pound Indian Com, others to boil Meal, which they call 
Grouller, and others to bake Bread, to carry to the War- 
riors. They all set out the 19th to meet them, and we 
thought it in policy convenient to send Meat to our Men 
w^hich was done by the French Man of Provence, who went 
with the Women. 

That same Day, at Night, the Victorious Army returned. Account of 
and we were informed, that their Enemies whom they call *^*^ f f^l'*^ 
C annohatinno , had expected them boldly, but that having the Cenis. 
heard the Noise, and felt the Effects of our Mens Fire 
Arms, they all fled, so' that the Cenis had either kill'd or 
taken Forty Eight Men and Women. They had slain sev- 
eral of the latter, who fled to the Tops of Trees, for want 
of Time to make their Escape otherwise; so that many 
more Women had perish'd than Men. 

They brought Home two of those Women alive, one Barharitv 

of whom had her Head flead for the Sake of her Hair and °J ^^^, ^■^^"' 

towards a 

Woman 

1 Fr. " qui se mirent a chanter a pleine gorge des chansons dif- taken. 

f erentes " — who began loudly to sing various songs. C. C. edit. 



158 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

May 1687 Skin. They gave that wretched Creature a Charge of 
Powder and a Ball, and sent Her home, bidding her carry 
that Present to her Nation, and to assure them, they should 
be again treated after the same Manner, that is, kill'd with 
Fire Arms. 

Of the The other Woman was kept to fall a Sacrifice tO' the 

omen. Rage and Vengeance of the Women and Maids ; who hav- 
ing arm'd themselves with thick Stakes, sharp Pointed at 
the End, Conducted that Wretch to a By-Place, where each 
of those Furies began to torment her, sometimes with the 
Point of their Staff, and sometimes laying on her with all 
their Might. One tore off her Hair, another cut off her 
Finger, and every one of those outrageous Women en- 
deavour'd to put her to some exquisite Torture, to revenge 
the Death of their Husbands and Kinsmen, who had been 
kill'd in the former Wars ; so that the unfortunate Creature 
expected her Death Stroke, as Mercy. 

Inhumanity. At last, one of them gave her a Stroke with a heavy 
Club on the Head, and another run her Stake several Times 
into her Body, with which she fell down Dead on the Spot. 
Then they cut that Miserable Victim into Morsels, and 
oblig'd some Slaves of that Nation, they had been long 
possess'd of to eat them. 

Cruel Thus our Warriors return'd Triumphant from that Ex- ^ 

Trophies. pedition. They spar'd none of the Prisoners they had taken, 
except two little Boys, and brought Home all the Skins of 
their Heads, with the Hair, to be kept as Trophies and 
glorious Memorials of their Victory. 

The next Day all those Savages met in their Chief's 
Cottage, whither all the abovemention'd Heads of Hair 
were carry'd in State. Then they made extraordinary Re- 
joicings in that Cottage, whence they went to the Huts of 
the other Prime Men, to perform the same Ceremony. This 
Rejoicing lasted three Days, our French Companions, who 
had been the Cause of their Victory, being call'd to it, and 
highly entertain'd, after their Manner. It will not be dis- 
agreeable to the Reader, that I here particularly describe 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 159 

that Ceremony, which after having been perform'd in the May 1687 
Cottag-es of the Chief Men, was repeated in ours. 

In the first Place, the Cottage was made very clean, Ceremony 
adorn'd, and abundant of Mats laid on the Floor, on which °^ R^joic- 
the Elders, and the most considerable Persons sate; after 
which, one of them, who is in the Nature of an Orator, 
or Master of the Ceremonies stood up and made a Speech, 
of which we understood not a Word. Soon after that Dis- 
course was ended, the Warriors arriv'd, who had slain any 
in Battle, marching in their proper Order, each of them 
carrying a Bow and two Arrows, and before every one of 
them went his Wife, carrying the Enemies Head of Hair. 
Two little Boys, whose Lives they had spar'd, as has been 
said before, one of them who' was wounded being a Horse- 
back, clos'd the procession; at the Head whereof, was a 
AVoman carrying a large Reed, or Cane in her Hand. 

As they came up to the Orator, the Warrior took the 
Head of Hair his Wife had brought, and presented it to 
him, which the said Orator receiv'd with both his Hands, 
and after having held it out towards the four Quarters of 
the World, he laid it down on the Ground, and then took 
the next, performing the same Ceremony, till he had gone 
over them all. 

When the Ceremony was ended, they serv'd up the Saga- 
mite, in the Nature of Hasty Pudding, which those Women 
had provided, and before any one touch'd it, the Master of 
the Ceremonies took some in a Vessel, which he carry'd as 
an Offering to those Heads of Hair. Then he lighted a Pipe 
of Tabacco, and blow'd the Smoke upon them. That being 
perform'd, they all fell tO' the Meat, Bits of the Woman that 
had been sacriiic'd were served up to the two Boys of her 
Nation. They also serv'd up dry'd Tongues of their Ene- 
mies, and the whole concluded with Dancing and Singing 
after their Manner : After which, they went to other Cot- 
tages to repeat the same Ceremony. 

There was no talk of our Design till those Rejoyclngs 
were over, and I began to conceive good Hopes of our 



i6o Monsieuri de la Sale's Second Voyage 

May 1687 Success. The two Murderers, Teissier and Larcheveque, 
who had both a Hand in the Death of Monsr. de la Sale, 
had promis'd to go along- with us, provided Monsr. Cave- 
lier would pardon them, and he had given them his Word 
so to do. In this Expectation we continu'd till the 25th, 
when our French Men, who had been at the War, repair'd 
to our Cottage, and we consulted about our Business. 

Hiens and others of his Gang, disapproving of our De- 
sign, represented to us such Difficulties as they look'd upon 
to be unsurmountable, under which we must inevitably 
perish, or at least be oblig'd to return to the same Place. 
Hiens told us, that for his own Part, he would not hazard 
his Life to return into France, only to have his Head 
chopp'd off, and perceiving we answer'd Nothing to that, but 
that we persisted in our Resolution, It is requisite then, said 
he, to divide what Effects remain. 

Hiens Accordingly he laid aside, for F. Anastasius, Messieurs 

gives the Caz>elier, the Uncle and the Nephew,^ thirty Axes, four or 

others what . t- ' j ' 

he pleases, five Dozens of Knives, about thirty Pounds of Powder and 

Ithe resV^f ^^^ ^^^^ Quantity of Ball. He gave each of the others two 
the Effects. Axes, two Knives, two or three Pounds of Powder, with as 
much Ball, and kept the rest. As for the Horses, he kept 
the best and left us the three least. Monsieur Cavelier 
ask'd him for some Strings of Beads, which he granted, 
and seiz'd upon all the late Monsr. de la Sale's Cloaths, 
Baggage and other Effects, besides above a thousand Livres 
in Money, which belong'd to the late Monsr. le Gros, who 
dy'd at our Dwelling of St. Lewis. Before our Departure, 
it was a sensible Affliction to us, to see that Villain walk 
about, in a scarlet Coat, with Gold Galons, which had be- 
long'd to the late Monsr. de la Sale, and which, as I have 
said, he had seiz'd. 
Mr. Cave- After that, Hiens and his Companions withdrew to their 
^Combm ^" ^^" Cottage, and we resolv'd not to put off our Departure 

part from 

the others. 1 M. Moranget. Following the word " nephew," in the Fr. are the 
words " & pour moy " — and for me. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. i6i 

any longer. Accordingly, we made ready our Horses, May 1687 
which much alarm'd the Natives, and especially the Chief 
of them, who said and did all he could to obstruct our 
Journey, promising us Wives, Plenty of Provisions, repre- 
senting to us the immense Dangers, as well from Enemies, 
who surrounded them, as from the bad and impassable 
Ways and the many Woods and Rivers we were tO' pass. 
However, we were not to be moved, and only ask'd one 
Kindness of him, in obtaining of which, there were many 
difficulties, and it was, that he would give us Guides to 
conduct us to Cappa; but at length, after much Trouble and 
many Promises of a good Reward, one was granted, and 
two others went along with him. 

All Things being thus order'd for our Departure, we took 
Leave of our Hosts, pass'd by Heins's Cottage and em- 
brac'd him and his Companions. We ask'd him for another 
Horse, which he granted. He desired an Attestation in 
Latm of Monsieur Cavelier, that he had not been concern'd 
in the Murder of Monsieur de la Sale, which was given him, 
because there was no refusing of it; and we set forward 
without Larcheveque and Meunier, who did not keep their French 
Word with us, but remain'd among those Barbarians, being •^^.^" ^J^'^ 
infatuated with that Course of Libertinism they had run Indians, 
themselves into. Thus there were only seven of us that Q^iy seven 
stuck together to return tO' Canada, vis. Father Anastasius, set out for 
Messieurs Cavelier the Uncle and the Nephew, the Sieur de 
Marie, one Teissier, a young Man born at Paris, whose 
Name was Bartholomezv and I, with six horses and the three 
Indians, who were to be our Guides ; a very small Number 
for so great an Enterprize, but we put ourselves entirely into 
the Hands of Divine Providence, confiding in God's Mercy, 
which did not forsake us. 

After the first Day's Journey we incamp'd on the Bank 

of the River, we had left not long before, lay there that 

Night, and the next Day, cut down Trees to make a Sort of 

Bridge or Planks to pass over it; handing over our Goods 

II 



1 62 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



May 1687 



Nahor- 
dJkhes mtd 
Affony. 



from one to another, and swimming over our Horses ; which 
Work we were frequently oblig'd to repeat, and as often as 
we had afterwards Occasion to pass Rivers on our Way, 
which we held on till the 29th, every Day meeting with 
some Cottage, and at last, a Hamlet or Village, into which 
we went, and the Indian Inhabitants told us, they were call'd 
Nahordikhe,^ and that they were Allies to the Cenis. 

We barter'd with them for some Provisions, and their 
Chief offer'd to go with us as far as the Assonys, who were 
not farther off than about three Leagues, which he accord- 
ingly did; but it happening to rain when we came thither, 
and the Assonys having had no Notice before hand, we 
found but indifferent Reception. 

However, we were conducted tO' the Chief's Cottage ; the 
Elders had Notice given them, they resorted thither, and 
when our Horses were unloaded, and our Goods plac'd in a 
Corner of the Cottage, which the Chief had allotted us, we 
gave them to understand, that our Intention was to go 
farther, to fetch Commodities to trade with them, at which 
they were pleas'd. They gave us to eat, and the Elders 
stay'd some Part of the Evening with us, which made us 
somewhat Uneasy, and oblig'd us to be upon our Guard; 
however the Night pass'd without any Disturbance. 

The next Morning the Elders came to us again. They 
had provided Mats without the Cottage, and made Signs 
to us to go thither and sit down upon them, as we did, 
leaving two of our Company to guard the Baggage. We 
repeated to them what we had said the Night before, and 
made them some Presents of Axes, Knives, Strings of Beads 
and Rings. They signify'd they were sorry we would go 
away, and endeavour'd the best they could, to- make us 
sensible of the same Obstacles the others had signify'd to 
us ; but it was all in Vain ; however, we stay'd till the first 
of June, all the while bartering and gathering the best stock 
of Provisions we could. 



1 Fr. Nalioudikhe. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 163 

The Second, we remov'd from that Cottage, where we June 1687 
had some Jealousy, and went to another, a Quarter of a 
League from it, where the Chief of it gave us a very good Good En- 
Reception. An old Woman, who was either his Mother, t^^^otnment. 
or Governess of the Cottage, took particular Care of us : 
We were first serv'd at eating, and to keq) her in that good 
Mind, we now and then made her some little Presents, 
whilst she, by her Care and Kindness, spar'd our Pro- 
visions, which were necessary for our Journey. 

A continual Rain oblig'd us to stay there till the 13th. 
During our Sta}^, the Natives made several Feasts, to which 
we were always invited ; and at length the Rain ceasing, we 
resolv'd to set out, notwithstanding all Monsieur Cavelier 
the Priest's Apprehensions, which we surmounted, and di- 
rected our Course towards the N. E. with two Indians, who 
were to conduct us only a small Way, and who accordingly 
soon left us, whatsoever Promises we could make them. 
They departed to return Home, promising they would come 
to us again. We encamp'd that Night on the Bank of a 
Rivulet. 

The 14th and 15th, we held on our Way, frequently, ^aj Ways. 
meeting with Sloughs, which very much fatigued us, be- 
cause we were oblig'd to unload our Horses for them to 
pass, and prevent their sticking in the Mire and fat Soil, 
whence we could not have drawn them out, and conse- 
quently we were fain to carry all our Luggage on our 
own Backs. 

Whilst we halted about Noon, that our Horses might 
graze, as was usually done by us, we discover'd our two 
Assony Indians returning towards us, at which we were 
much rejoiced, because they had a better Notion than our- 
selves of the Way we were to go. We made them eat and 
smoke, and then set out again. 

The 1 6th, we came to a great River, which we pass'd as 
we had done the first, and after that, met with very bad 
Ways. 

The 17th, one of our Company being indispos'd, we could 



164 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

June 1687 not set out till Noon, and held on till the 21st, crossing 
~ several Sloughs and Rivers, and then one of our Indians 

being out of Order, it oblig'd us to stay on the Bank of a 
River we had pass'd. The other Indian seeing his comrade 
sick, went a Hunting, and brought a wild Goat; for there 
Art to Kill are many in that Country. The Indians have the Art of 
Wild Fowl dressing the Heads of those Creatures, which they put upon 
their own, and imitate them so exactly, that they can come 
very near to them, and then seldom fail of killing. The 
same Method they use for Turkeys and other wild Fowl, 
and so draw them close to themselves. 
j^"«^ The 226., our Indian being somewhat recover'd we de- 

camp'd and proceeded along a better Way and Pleasanter 
Country, than that we had left behind, and as we enquir'd 
the best we could of those our Indians, concerning the 
Neighbouring Nations and those we were going towards, 
among others they nam'd to us, that they call'd Cappa. 
M. Cavelier told us, he remember'd he had heard his late 
Brother Monsieur de la Sale name that Nation, and say he 
had seen it as he went from Canada towards the Missisipi. 
This put us in Hopes, that we should succeed in our Dis- 
covery, 

The 23d, being near a Village, we had been in Search 
of, one of our Indians went before, to give Notice of our 
Arrival. In the mean Time we cross'd most lovely Plains 
and Meadows, border 'd with fine Groves of beautiful Trees, 
where the Grass was so high, that it hinder'd our Horses 
going, and were oblig'd to clear the Passage for them. 

When we were within Half a League of the Village, 
we saw an Indian, mounted on a large grey Mare, coming 
along with our Native, to meet us, and were told, that Horse- 
man was the Chief of the Village, attended by some others 
of the same Place. As soon as that Chief came up to us, he 
express'd very much Kindness and Affection ; we gave him 
to understand, that we did no Body any Harm, unless we 
were first attack'd. Then we made him smoke, and when 
that was done, he made Signs to us to follow him, which 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 165 

we did, till we came to the Bank of a River, where he again June 1687 
desir'd us tO' stay, whilst he went tO' give Notice to the ' 

Elders, 

Soon after, a Number of them came, and having join'd ,¥• Cave- 

. lier and the 

us, signify'd, that they were come to carry us to their Vil- rest carry' d 
lage. Our Indians made Signs, that it was the Custom of ?^ ^^^^ 
the Country, and we must submit, and let them dO' as they Indians. 
thought fit. Tho' we were much out of Countenance at 
that Ceremony, seven of the prime Men among them would 
have us mount on their Backs or Shoulders. Monsieur 
Cavelier being our Chief, mounted first, and then the rest 
did the same. 

As for my own Part, being of a pretty large Size and 
loaded with Cloaths, a Firelock, a Case of Pistols, Powder 
and Ball, a Kettle and other Implements, there is no' Doubt 
but I made a sufficient Burden for him that carry'd me, and 
because I was taller than he and my Feet would have hung 
upon the Ground, two' other Indians held them up for me ; 
so that I had three to carry me. Other Indians took hold 
of our Horses to lead them, and in that ridiculous Equipage 
we arriv'd at the Village. Our Carriers, who had gone a 
long Quarter of a League, had need enough to- rest, and we 
to be set down, that we might laugh in private, for it 
behov'd us to take Care not tO' do it before them. 

As soon as we were come to the Chief's Cottage, where Ceremonies 
we found above two' hundred Persons, who were come ^o'^J^^lf^^^ 
see us, and that our Horses were unloaded, the Elders gave 
us to understand, that it was their Custom to wash Strangers 
at their first Coming; but that we being clad, they would 
only wash our Faces; which one of those elders did, with 
fair Water they had in a Sort of Earthen Vessel, and he 
only wash'd our Forehead. 

After this second Ceremony, the Chief made Signs to speeches 
us, to sit down on a Sort of little Scaffold, rais'd about 4 "^^^^ *o 
Foot above the Ground, and made of Wood and Canes, . 
where when we were plac'd, the Chiefs of the Villages being 
four in Number, came and made Speeches to us, one after 



1 66 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

June 1687 another. We listened to them with Patience, tho' we mi- 
derstood not one Word of what they said to us ; being tir'd 
with the Length of their Harangues, and much more with 
the violent Heat of the Sun, which was just over our Heads. 
When the Speeches A^^ere ended, the Purport whereof, 
as near as we could guess, was only to assure us, that we 
were very welcome; we gave them to understand, that we 
were going intO' our own Country, designing to return 
speedily, to bring them several Sorts of Commodities and 
such Things as they should stand in need of. 

Next, we made them the usual Presents of Axes, Knives, 
Strings of Beads, Needles and Pins, for their Wives, telling 
them, that when we return'd we would give them more. 
Their En- We farther signify'd to them, that if they would afford 
tertamment. ^g some Corn or Meal, we would give them other Things in 
Exchange, which they agreed to. After this they made us 
eat Sagamite, or Hasty-pudding, Bread, Beans, Pompions 
and other Things, which we had sufficient Need of. Most 
of us having scarce eaten any Thing all that Day, some for 
Want, and others out of Devotion, as Monsr. Cavelier, who 
would observe the Fast of St. John Baptist's Eve, whose 
Name he bore. It is tO' be observ'd, that the Pompions are 
incomparably better there, than with us. 

The 24th, the Elders met again in our Cottage. We 
gave them to understand, they would oblige us,^ in fur- 
nishing Guides tO' conduct us tO' the Village of Cap pa, which 
was in our Way ; but instead of granting it, they earnestly 
intreated us, to^ stay with them and go to the Wars against 
their Enemies, having been told Wonders of our Firelocks, 
which we promis'd to do' when we return'd, and that it 
should be shortly, and they seem'd to rest satisfy'd. 

Thus our Hopes increas'd, but the Joy it occasion'd was 

Mr. de allay'd by a dismal Accident that befell us. Monsieur de 

Marie Marie, one of the prime Men of our Company, having 

■ "• Breakfasted, would needs gO' Bath himself in the River we 

1 In Fr. original, this sentence is in a marginal note. C. C. ed. 



hito NORTH AMERICA. 167 

had pass'd the Day l^efore, and not knowing how to swim, June 1687 
he went too far and step'd into a Hole, whence he could not 
recover himself, but was unfortunately drowned. Young 
Monsieur Cavclicr, having been told that Monsieur de 
Marie was going to Bath himself, ran after him, and com- 
ing to the River, saw he was drowning, he ran back to 
acquaint us : We hasted thither with a Number of Indians, 
who were there before us; but all too late, some of them 
div'd, and brought him up dead from the Bottom of the 
Water. 

We carry'd him to the Cottage, shedding many Tears, His 
the Indians bore Part in our Sorrow, and we paid him the ^""^''^^• 
last Duties, offering up the usual Prayers; after which he 
was buryed in a small Field, behind the Cottage; and 
whereas, during that doleful Ceremony, we pray'd, reading 
in our Books, particularly Monsieur Cavelier, the Priest and 
Father Anastasius, the Indians gaz'd on us with Amaze- 
ment, because we talk'd, looking upon the Leaves, and we 
endeavour'd to give them to understand, that we pray'd to 
God for the dead Man, pointing up tO' Heaven. 

We must do this Right to those good People, as to de- Humanity 
clare, that they express'd singular Humanity upon that dole- dians. 
ful Accident, as appear'd by the sensible Testimony of their 
Actions, and all the Methods they us'd to let us under- 
stand how great a Share they bore in our Sorrow; which 
we should not have found in several Parts of Europe. 

During our short Stay in that Place, we observ'd a Cere- Indian 
mony that was perform'd by the Chief's Wife, viz. that toTheloead 
every Morning she went to Monsieur de Marie's Grave, 
and carry'd a little Basket of parch'd Ears of Corn to lay 
on it, the meaning whereof we could not understand. Be- 
fore our Departure, we were inform'd, that the Villages be- 
longing to our Hosts, being four in Number, all ally'd to- 
gether were call'd, Assony, Natsohsos, Nachitos and Indian 
%■,■,. -^ Nations. 

Ladodaquio. 

On the 27th, having been inform'd by the Natives, that 
we should find Canoes, to pass a River that was on our 



1 68 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



June 1687 



Janiquo 
Nation. 



Doleful 
Entertain- 
ment. 



Way, Father Anastasius and I went to see whether, what 
they told us was true. We found that River was a Branch 
of the same we had already pass'd, the Channel of it being 
pleasant and navigable, and saw some Canoes, in one of 
which the Indians carry'd us over to the other Side, whether 
we went to see what convenient Place there was for our 
Horses to come ashore. We found a very proper Place, and 
returning, made our Report tO' Monsieur Cavelier, who 
being then much out of Order with Pains in his Feet, we 
were oblig'd to stay there, till the 30th. 

During that Time, we were frequently visited by the 
Indians, both Old and Young, and of both Sexes, and 
even the Chiefs of the Nation, call'd laniquo, came to see 
us, and with them we often convers'd in dumb Show, and 
every Evening the Women, attended by the Warriors, with 
their Bows and Arrows, resorted to our Cottage, to sing 
a doleful Sort of Song, shedding Tears at the same Time. 
This would have given us some Uneasiness, had we not be- 
fore seen the same Ceremony, and been inform'd, that those 
Women repair in that Manner to the Chief's Cottage, to 
intreat him, singing and weeping, to take Revenge on those, 
who have kill'd their Husbands, or Relations, in former 
Wars, as I have observ'd before. In all other Respects, the 
Manners and Customs of this Nation, being much the same 
as those of the Cenis, I shall add no' more concerning them. 

The 29th, at Night, we gave Notice to the Chief, that we 
would set out the next Day, we made him some Presents in 
particular, and the like to his Wife, because she had taken 
special Care of us, and departed on the 30th. The Chief, 
attended by many other Indians, whom we found in the 
Cottages on our Way, went to Conduct us as far as the 
River, which we cross'd in Canoes, and swam over our 
Horses. There we took Leave of our Conductors, to whom 
we gave some Strings of Beads for their Wives, and their 
Chief would needs Conduct us to the next Village. 

By the Way we came tO' a Cottage, where our Guide 
made us halt, and there they gave us to eat. Then we held 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 169 

on our Journey to a Village call'd Cadodaquio, and were/Mn^ 1687 
conducted to the Chief's Cottage, who receiv'd us cour- Cadodaquio 
tiously, being a Friend to him that went with us. It was re- Village. 
quisite to unload our Horses to lie there, and we signified 
to the Chief, that we stood in Need of Provisions. He 
spoke to the Women, who brought us some Meal, which we 
purchased with Strings of Beads, and the Chief, who con- 
ducted us thither, took his Leave. 

Having no Design to stay there any Time, we had de- 
sired the Chief to appoint some Person to guide us to the 
Village call'd Cahainihoua, which was in our Way. It 
happen'd by good Fortune, that there were then in that 
Place some Men and Women of the said Village, who 
were come to fetch some Wood, fit to make Bows, there 
being Plenty of that Sort of Trees they make them of, 
about the Village we were in. We signify'd our Design to 
them and they gave us to understand they would be glad 
to bear us Company. In the Conversation we had with 
them, they made us comprehend, that they had seen People 
like us, who had Firelocks and a House, and that they were 
acquainted with the Cappa's, which was very pleasing tO' us. 
Because they were not to depart till two Days after, we 
resolv'd to stay for them. 

We observ'd, that there was a Difference between the Peculiar 
Language of those People and the Inhabitants of the Village Custom. 
we were in, from that of the Cenis, and that they had some 
peculiar Ceremonies, one whereof is, that when the Women 
have their Terms, they leave the Company of their Hus- 
bands and withdraw into' other Cottages appointed for that 
Purpose, which no Person is to come near, upon Pain of 
being reputed unclean. 

Those Women have their Faces still more disfigur'd, than Ornaments 
the others we had seen before ; for they make several °' f^^^^^' 
Streaks, or Scores on them, whereas the others had but one. 
They adorn themselves with little Locks of fine red Hair; 
which they make fast to their Ears in the Nature of 
Pendants. In other Respects they are not disagreeable, and 



170 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

July 1687 neither Women nor Maids are so ill-natur'd as to make their 
Lovers pine for them. They are not difficult of Access, and 
they soon make a Return for a small Present. 
The Men. The Men wear their Hair short, like our Capucins, they 

anoint it with a sort of Oyl, or Grease, and curl it like snails, 
after which they strew on it a Sort of Down, or Lint, died 
red, as we do Powder, which is done when they design to 
be very fine, in order to appear in their Assemblies. They 
are very fond of their Children, and all the Way of chastis- 
ing them they use, is to throw Water at them, without ever 
beating or giving them ill Words. 

The Indians that were of the Village of Cohainihoua^ 
and tO' conduct us thither, not being ready tO' set out on 
Wednesday the 2d of July, as the}^ had promis'd, a yo^ung 
Indian offer'd himself, saying, he would conduct us safe 
thither, and we^ set out with him, still directing our Course 
towards the N. E. We kept close along the same River 
we had cross' d, and found it very pleasant and navigable, 
the Banks of it cover'd with fine Trees of several Sorts. 

We had not travell'd above a League, before our Guide 
gave us to understand, that he had forgot a Piece of hard 
dry'd Skin he had to make him Shoes, which he would go 
fetch and return to us, pointing to us with his Hand, which 
Way we were to go, and telling us we should soon come to 
a River. 

This sudden Change in the Indian was somewhat sur- 
prizing and very much perplex'd us; however we held on 
our Way, and soon came to the River he had mention'd to 
us, which was very pleasant and deep. We cross'd it the 
next Day, on a Sort of Float, which we made with much 
Toil and Labour, and our Horses swam over. Some Time 
after we were passed, we saw the Indiaiis coming, who' had 
promised tO' bear us Company, and were glad to find our 
Float, to cross the same River, as they did, and proceeded 
on our Journey all together. 

1 Fr. Cahainihoiia. [Cf. pp. 90 and 44, and the notes. A marginal 
note in the Fr. calls this tribe Cahavnaho.] C. C. edit. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 171 

The 4th, 5th and 6th, we did the same, crossing a very July 1687 
fine Country, but water'd by many Brooks, Streams and 
Rivers. We found Abundance of wild Goats, Turkeys and Plenty of 
other wild Fowl, whereof our Indians kill'd many. 

On the 6th, whilst we halted on the Bank of a River to 
eat, we heard the Tingling of some small Bells; which 
making us look about, we spy'd an Indian with a naked 
Sword-Blade in his Hand, adorned with Feathers of sev- 
eral Colours, and two large Hawks Bells, that occasion'd 
the Noise we had heard. 

He made Signs for us to^ come to him, and gave us to 
tmderstand, that he was sent by the Elders of the Village, 
whither we were going, to meet us, carressing us after an 
extraordinary Manner. I observ'd that it was a Spanish 
Blade he had, and that he took Pleasure in ringing the 
Hawks Bells. 

Having travell'd about half a League with him, we dis- Kind Re- 
cover'd a Dozen of other Indians coming towards us, who ^^^ ^""' 
made very much of and conducted us the Village, toi the 
Chief's Cottage, where we found dry'd Bear-Skins laid on 
the Ground, and they made us sit on them, where we were 
treated with Eatables, as were the Elders after us, and a 
Throng of Women came to see us. 

The 7th, the Elders came to; give us a Visit, bringing us Presents. 
two Bullocks Hides, four Otters Skins, one white Wild- 
Goat's Skin, all of them well dry'd, and 4 Bows, in Return 
for the Present we had before made them. The Chief and 
another came again some Time after, bringing two Loaves, 
the finest and the best we had yet seen. They look'd as if 
they had been bak'd in an Oven, and yet we had not ob- 
serv'd, that there were Ovens among any of them. That 
Chief stay'd with us some Hours, he seem'd to be very 
ingenious and discreet, and easily understood our Signs, 
which were most of the Language we had. Having order'd 
a little Boy tO' bring us all we had Occasion for, he with- 
drew ^^^ ^'7' 
^^'-"^' ^ , mony of 

Towards the Evening, we were entertain'd with a Cere- the Pipe. 



172 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

July 1687 mony we had not seen before. A Company of Elders, 
attended by some young Men and Women came to our Cot- 
tage in a Body, singing as loud as they could roar. The 
foremost of them had a Calumet, so they call a very long 
Sort of Tabacco Pipe, adorn' d with several Sorts of 
Feathers. When they had sung a while, before our Cot- 
tage, they enter'd it, still singing on, for about a Quarter 
of an Hour. After that, they took Monsieur Cavelier the 
Priest, as being our Chief, led him in solemn Manner out 
of the Cottage, supporting him under the Arms. When 
they were come to a Place they had prepared, one of them 
laid a great Handful of Grass under his feet, twO' others 
brought fair Water in an Earthen Dish, with which they 
wash'd his Face, and then made him sit down on a Skin, 
provided for that Purpose. 

When Monsieur Cavelier was seated, the Elders took 
their Places, sitting round about him, and the Master of 
the Ceremonies fix'd in the Ground two little wooden 
Forks, and having laid a Stick across them, all being 
painted red, he placed on them a Bullock's Hide, dryed, a 
Goat's Skin over that, and then laid the Pipe thereon. 

The Song was begun again, the Women mixing in the 
Chorus, and the Concert was heightned by great hollow 
Calabashes or Gourds, in which there were large Gravel 
Stones, to make a Noise, the Indians striking on them by 
Measure, to answer the Tone of the Choir ; and the pleas- 
antest of all was, that one of the Indians plac'd himself be- 
hind Monsieur Cavelier tO' hold him up, whilst at the same 
Time he shook and dandled him from Side to Side, the 
Motion answering toi the Musick. 

That Concert was scarce ended, when the Master of the 
Ceremonies brought two Maids, the one having in her 
Hand a Sort of Collar, and the other an Otter's Skin, 
which they plac'd on the wooden Forks abovemention'd, at 
the Ends of the Pipe. Then he made them sit down, on 
each Side of Monsieur Cavelier, in such a Posture, that 
they look'd one upon the other, their Legs extended and 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 173 

intermix'd, on which the same Master of the Ceremonies July 1687 
laid Monsieur Cavelier's Legs, in such Manner, that they 
lay uppermost and across those of the two Maids. 

Whilst this Action was performing, one of the Elders 
made fast a dy'd Feather tO' the back Part of Monsieur 
Cavelier's Head, tying it to his Hair. The Singing still 
continu'd all that Time, so' that Monsieur Cavelier grown 
weary of its Tedioiisness, and asham'd to see himself in 
that Posture between two Maids, without knowing to what 
Purpose, made Signs to us to signify the same to the Chief, 
and having given him to understand, that he was not well, 
two of the Indians immediately took hold of him under the 
Arms, conducted him back to the Cottage and made Signs 
to him to take his Rest. This was about Nine in the Even- 
ing, and the Indians spent all the Night in Singing, inso- 
much that some of them could hold out no longer. 

In the Morning they return'd tO' Monsieur Cavelier, con- 
ducted him again out of the Cottage, with the same Cere- 
mony and made him sit down, still singing on. Then the 
Master of the Ceremonies took the Pipe, which he fill'd 
with Tabacco, lighted and offered it to Monsieur Cavelier, 
but drawing back and advancing six Times before he gave 
it him. Having at last put it into his Hands, Monsieur 
Cavelier made as if he had smok'd and return'd it to them. 
Then they made us all smoke round, and every one of them 
whiff'd in his Turn, the Musick still continuing. 

About Nine in the Morning, the Sun growing very hot, 
and Monsieur Cavelier being bare Headed, made Signs 
that it did him Harm. Then at last they gave over sing- 
ing, and conducted him back into the Cottage, took tfie 
Pipe, put it into a Case, made of a Wild-Goat's Skin, with 
the two wooden Forks and the red Stick that lay across 
them, all which one of the Elders offer'd to Monsieur Cave- 
lier, assuring him that he might pass thro' all the Nations 
that were ally'd to them by Virtue of that Token of Peace, 
and should be every where well receiv'd. This was the houa^iva- 
first Place where we saw the Calumet, or Pipe of Peace, Hon. 



174 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



July 1687 



Indians 

expect 

Presents. 



The Jour- 
ney prose- 
cuted. 



having no Knowledge of it before, as some have writ. This 
Nation is call'd Cahaynohoua. 

This Sort of Ceremonies being never perform'd among 
the Indians without the Expectation of receiving some 
Present, and we having besides observ'd, that some of 
them had withdrawn themselves, with Tokens of Dissatis- 
faction, perhaps because we had interrupted their Cere- 
mony, we thought it convenient to give them something 
more, and I Avas appointed to carry them an Ax, four 
Knives and some Strings of Beads, with which they were 
satisfied. 

We afterwards shew'd them an Experiment of our 
Arms, the Noise and Fire whereof frighted them. They 
earnestly press' d us to stay with them, offering us Wives 
and whatsoever else we should want. To be the better quit 
of them, we promis'd to^ return, saying we were going to 
fetch Commodities, Arms and Tools, which we stood in 
Need of, that we might afterwards stay with them. 

The 9th and loth were spent in Visits, and we were in- 
form'd by one of the Indians that we were not far from a 
great River, which he describ'd with a Stick on the Sand, 
and shew'd it had two Branches, at the same Time pro- 
nouncing the word Cappa, which, as I have said, is a Na- 
tion near the Missisipi. We then made no longer Ques- 
tion, that we were near what we had been so long looking 
after. W^e entreated the Elders to appoint some men to 
conduct us, promising to reward them well, which they 
granted, and we set out the nth, to the great Sorrow of 
those good People, who had entertain' d us so courteously. 

We travell'd several different Ways, which we could 
never have found, had we wanted Guides, and so pro- 
ceeded till on the 12th, one of our Guides pretended to be 
sick, and made Signs that he would go back; but observ- 
ing, that we seem'd to be no' Way concern'd, which we did 
on Purpose, he consulted with his Companion, and then 
came to tell us, he was recover'd. We made him eat and 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 175 

smoke, and continued our Journey the 13th, finding the 7«/y 1687 
Way very bad and difficult, "" 

The 14th, our Indians, having seen the Track of Bul- 
locks, signify'd they would go kill some, to eat the Flesh, 
which made us halt for two or three Hours. Whilst we 
stay'd for our Hunters, we prepar'd some Sagamite, or 
their Sort of Hasty-Pudding. They returned loaded with 
Flesh, Part whereof we dress'd, and eat it with very good 
Stomachs. Then we proceeded on our Journey till the 
i8th, and by the Way kill'd three Bullocks and two Cows, 
which oblig'd us to halt, that we might use of our Flesh, 
drying it. 

The Night between the 19th and the 20th, one of our 
Horses breaking loose, was either taken away by the Na- 
tives, or lost in the Woods. That did not obstruct our 
Departure, tho' the Loss was grievous to us, and we held 
on our Way till the 24th, when we met a Company of In- 
dians, with Axes, going toi fetch Barks of Trees, tO' cover Indians 
their Cottages. They were surpriz'd to see us, but having "^^'^ Axes. 
made Signs tO' them to draw near, they came, caress'd and 
presented us with some Water Melons they had. They 
put off their Design of going to fetch Bark till another 
Time, and went along with us, and one of our Guides 
having gone before in the Morning to give Notice of our 
coming at the next Village, met with other Parcels of In- 
dians, who were coming to meet us, and express' d extraor- 
dinary Kindness. 

We halted in one of their Cottages, which they call 
Desert, because they are in the Midst of their Fields and 
Gardens. There we found several Women whoi had 
brought Bread, Gourds, Beans and Water Melons, a Sort 
of Fruit proper to quench Thirst, the Pulp of it being no 
better than Water. 

We set out again to come tO' the Village, and by the 
Way, met with very pleasant Woods, in which, there were 
Abundance of stately Cedars. Being come tO' a River, that 



176 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

July 1687 was between us and the Village, and looking over to the 

A Cross by further Side, we discover'd a great Cross, and at a small 

a River and Distance from it, a House, built after the French Fashion. 

huilV House. ^^ '^^ ^^^y *0' imagine what inward Joy we conceiv'd at 

the Sight of that Emblem: of our Salvation. We knelt 

down, lifting up our Hands and Eyes tO' Heaven, to return 

Thanks to the Divine Goodness, for having conducted us 

so happily ; for we made no' Question of finding French on 

the other Side of the River, and of their being Catholicks, 

since they had Crosses. 

In short, having halted some Time on the Bank of that 
River, we spy'd several Canoes making towards us, and 
two Men cloath'd, coming out of the House we had dis- 
cover'd, who, the Moment they saw us, fir'd each of them 
a Shot to salute us. An Indian being Chief of the Village, 
who was with them, had done so> before, and we were not 
backward in returning their Salute, by discharging all our 
Pieces. 

When we had pass'd the River, and were all come to- 
Dwelling gether, we soon knew each other to be French Men. Those 
of French. ^^ found were the Sieurs Couture Charpantier and de 
Laiinay, both of them of Roan, whom Monsieur de Tonty, 
Governor of Fort St. Lewis among the Islinois, had left at 
that Post, when he went down the Missisipi to look after 
Monsr. de la Sale ; and the Nation we were then v/ith, was 
call'd Accancea. 

It is hard to express the Joy conceiv'd on both Sides ; 

ours was unspeakable, for having at last found, what we 

had so earnestly desired, and that the Hopes of returning 

to our dear Country, was in some Measure assured by that 

The Travel- happy Discovery. The others were pleased to see such 

the French^ Persons as might bring them News of that Commander, 

Habitation, from whom they expected the Performance of what he had 

promis'd them; but the Account we gave them of Monsr. 

de la Sale's unfortunate Death, was so afflicting, that it 

drew Tears from them, and the dismal History of his 

Troubles and Disasters render'd them almost inconsolable. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 177 

We were conducted to the House, whither all our Bag- July 1687 
gage was honestly carry'd by the Indians. There was a 
veiy great Throng of those People, both Men and Women, 
which being over, we came to the Relation of the particu- 
lar Circumstances of our Stories. Ours was deliver'd by 
Monsieur Cavelier, whom we honour'd as our Chief, for 
being Brother to him, who had been so. 

We were infomi'd by them, that they had been Six, sent Who the 
by Monsr. Tonty, when he return'd from the Voyage he^7r"!^'"^" 
had made down the Colbert or Missisipi River, pursuant to 
the Orders sent him by the late Monsr. de la Sale, at his 
Departure from France, and that the said Sieur Tonty had 
commanded them to build the aforesaid House. That 
having never since receiv'd any News from the said Monsr. 
de la Sale, Four of them were gone back to Monsr. Tonty, 
at the Fort of the Islinois. 

In Conclusion, it was agreed among us, to go away as 
soon as possible, towards the Islinois, and conceal from the 
Indians, the Death of Monsieur de la Sale, to keep them 
still in Awe and under Submission, whilst we went away 
with the first Ships that should happen to sail from Canada 
for France, to give an Account at Court of what had hap- 
pen'd, and to procure Succours. In the mean Time, the 
Chief of the Indians came to invite us to eat. We found 
Mats laid on the Ground for us to sit on, and all the Vil- 
lage met to see us. 

We gave them to understand, that we came from Mon- 
sieur de la Sale, who had made a Settlement on the Bay 
of Mexico ; that we had pass'd thro' many Nations, which 
we nam'd, and that we were going to Canada for Com- 
modities, and would return down the River; that we would 
bring Men to defend them against their Enemies and then Kind In- 
settle among them ; that the Nations we had pass'd through '^"^" 
had appointed Men to guide us, and we desired the same 
Favour of them, with some Canoes and Provisions, and 
that we would reward our Guides and pay for what they 
furnish'd us. 
12 



178 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



July 1687 



French 
House 
among the 
Acconcea'j 
descrih'd. 



Product of 
the Coun- 
try. 



The Conveniency of an Interpreter, we then had, gave us 
the Opportunity of makingf ourselves be easily understood, 
and the Chief answer'd to our Proposals, that he would 
send Men to the other Villages to acquaint them with our 
Demands, and to consult with them what was to be done 
in that Case; that as for the rest, they were amaz'd at our 
having pass'd thro' so many Nations, without having been 
detain'd, or kill'd, considering what a small Number we 
were. 

When the Discourse was ended, that Chief caus'd Meat 
to be set before us, as dry'd Flesh, Bread made of Indian 
Corn of several Sorts, and Water Melons; after which he 
made us smoke, and then we return'd to our House, where 
being eas'd of all those linpediments, we gave each other 
an Account of our Affairs, at Leisure, and were infooTi'd, 
that those People^ impatiently expected^ the Return of 
Monsieur de la Sale, which confirm'd us in the Resolution 
of concealing his Death. We observ'd the Situation of 
that Post, and were made acquainted with the Nature of 
the Country and the Manners of those People, of which I 
shall give the following Remarks. 

The House we were then in, was built of Pieces of 
Cedar laid one upon another, and rounded away at the 
Corners; its roof is of bark. It is seated on a small Emi- 
nency, half a Musket-shot from the Village, in a Country 
abounding in all Things. The Plains lying on one Side of 
it, are stor'd with Beeves, wild Goats, Deer, Turkeys, Bus- 
tards, Swans, Ducks, Teal and other Game. 

The Trees produce plenty of Fruit, and very good, as 
Peaches, Plumbs, Mulberries, Grapes, and Wallnuts. They 
have a Sort of Fruit they call Piaguimina, not unlike our 
Medlars, but much better and more delicious. Such as 
live near the Rivers, as that House is, do not want for Fish 
of all Sorts, and they have Indian Wheat, whereof they 
make good Bread. There are also fine Plains diversify'd 
with several Sorts of Trees, as I have said before. 



1 Fr. " aspiroieiit grandement " — ardently longed for. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 179 

The Nation of the Accancea's consists of four Villages. July 1687 
The first is call'd Otsotchove, near which we were; the sec- j^ation of 
end Torirnan, both of them seated on the River ; the third the Accan- 
Tonginga ; and the fourth Cappa, on the Bank of the ^^^ ^' 
Missisipi These Villages are built after a different Man- 
ner from the others we had seen before, in this Point, that 
the Cottages, which are alike as to their Materials and 
Rounding at the Top, are long, and cover' d with the Bark 
of Trees, and so very large, that several of them can hold 
two hundred Persons, belonging to several Families. 

The people are not so neat as the Cenis, or the Assonis Houshold 
in their Houses, for some of them lie on the Ground, with- ** ' 
out any Thing under them but some Mats, or a dress'd 
Hide. However, some of them have more Conveniencies, 
but the Generality has not.^ All their Moveables consist 
in some Earthen Vessels and oval wooden Platters, which 
are neatly made, and with which they drive a Trade. 

They are generally very well shap'd and active ; the Shape. 
Women are handsome, or at least have a much better 
Presence than those of the other Villages we pass'd thro' 
before. They make Canoes all of one Piece, which are 
well wrought. As for themselves they are very faithful, 
good natur'd, and Warriors like the rest. 

The 25th, the Elders being assembled, came to see us, The Cere- 
and told the Sieur Couture, that they design'd tO' sing and ^{p^ plr- ^ 
dance the Calumet, or Pipe ; because the others had sung form'd to 
it, some of them to the late Monsieur de la Sale, and the ^gj. ^^^" 
rest to Monsieur Tonty, and therefore it was but reason- 
able they should do the same to get a Firelock, as well as 
the others. Monsieur Cavelier was inform'd of it, and it 
was requisite to consent to it, to please those Indians, be- 
cause we stood in need of them. 

The Ceremony began with Monsieur Cavelier, who was Ceremony 
led under the Arms and seated on a Hide, without the ^' ^ ^ '^^* 
Cottage. The Forks, the Skins laid on it in Honour of the 

* Fr. " Qnelques une cependant sont plus proprement ; mais generale- 
ment, non " — Some nevertheless are more cleanly, but generally they 
are not. 



1 8b Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

July 1687 Pipe, the Singing as loud as they cou'd roar, both by Men 
and Women, and all the other Ceremonies were observ'd, 
as I have mention'd them before; so' that Monsieur Cave- 
lier being weary of them, he caus'd the Chief to be told, 
that he was out of Order, and desir'd his Nephew might be 
put in his Place, which was done accordingly, and they 
spent the whole Night in Singing. In the Morning they 
perform'd some other Ceremonies, not worth relating. 

The Solemnity being ended, by every Man's smoking of 
the Pipe, the Indians took it, with some Bullocks Hides, 
and Goats and Otters Skins, and a Collar made of Shells, 
all which they carry'd to our House, and we gave them a 
Firelock, two Axes, six Knives, one hundred Charges of 
Powder, as much Ball, and some Strings of Beads for their 
Wives. The Chief having given Notice of our coming to 
the other Villages, their Deputies came to see us; we en- 
tertain'd them in the House, and propos'd to them our 
Designs, as had been done to the Chief. They stood con- 
sidering a While, then held a Sort of Consultation among 
themselves, which held not long without talking, and then 
agreed to grant us what we ask'd, which was a Canoe and 
a Man of each Village to conduct us, upon the promis'd 
Consideration, and so they went away to' the Cottage of 
the Chief of the Village. 

The 27th, the Chief and the Elders met again to con- 
sult about what we demanded of them; the Length of the 
Journey made them apprehensive for those, who were to 
conduct us ; but, at Length, we having dispell' d their Fears 
by our Arguments, and they having again deliberated some 
Time, agreed to our Request. We again made them a 
Present, promising a good Reward to our Guides, and so 
we prepar'd tO' set forwards. Little Bartholomezv the 
Parisian, having intimated to us, that he would willingly 
stay in that House, because he was none of the ablest of 
Body, we recommended him to the Sieur Couture. We 
desir'd those that remain'd there, to keep the Secret of 
Monsr. de la Sale's Death, promis'd to send them Relief, 



Into NORTH AMERICA. i8l 

left them onr Horses, which were of great Use to go a July 1687 

'Hunting, and gave them fifteen or sixteen Pounds of ~ 

Powder, eight hundred Balls, three hundred Flints, twenty 

six Knives, and ten Axes, two or three Pounds Weight of 

Beads ; Monsr. Cavclicr left them Part of his Linen, hoping 

we should soon be in a Place where we should get more; 

and all of them having made their Peace with God, by jhe Jour- 

Means of the Sacrament of Penance, we took Leave of "^^ contin- 

them, excepting the Sieur Couture, who went to conduct us 

Part of the Way. 

We imbark'd on a Canoe belonging to one of the Chiefs, 
being at least twenty Persons, as well Women as Men, and 
arriv'd safe, without any Trouble, at a Village call'd Tori- Toriman 
man, for we were going down the River. We were well * °^^' 
received in the Chiefs wigwam, and were treated as we had 
been when among the others. We propos'd it to these 
People, or rather demanded it of them to confirm what had 
been granted us by the others, and they deferr'd giving us 
their Answer till the next Day ; for they do^ Nothing with- 
out consulting about it, and we having brought a Sack of 
Indian Wheat, from the French Mens House, desir'd the 
Chief to cause Women tO' pound it, for which we would 
give 'em Something. Immediately he made a Sign to his 
Officers to go call them, and they went as readily. 

There were seven or eight of those Officers always about <^^^^^"^- 
him, stark naked and besmear' d, some after one Fashion, 
and others after another. Each of them had three or four 
Calabashes or Gourds, hanging at a Leather Girdle about 
their Wastes, in which there were several Pebbles, and be- 
hind them hung a Horse's Tail, so that when they ran, 
the Gourds made a ratling Noise, and the Tail being born 
up by the Wind, stood out at its full Length, so that Noth- 
ing could be seen more ridiculous ; but it behooved us to take 
Heed of shewing the least Smile. 

The remaining Part of the Day was spent in going with The River 
the Sieur Couture to see the fatal River so much sought K^^^^^'^J 
after by us, called Colbert, when first discover'd, and Mis- last. 



1 82 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



July 1687 



Particular 
Ceremonies. 



Tonningua 
Village. 



Cappa 
Village. 



sisipij or, Mechassipi by the Natives that were near us. 
It is a very fine River and deep, the Breadth of it about a 
Quarter of a League, and the Stream very rapid. The 
Sieur Couture assur'd us, that it has two Branches or 
Channels, which parted from each other above us, and that 
we had pass'd its other Branch, when we came to the first 
Village of the Accancea's, with which Nation we still were. 

The 28th, the Chief and the Elders being assembled, they 
granted our Requests. We were to part, in order to be 
entertain'd in several Places, where we took Notice of some 
particular Ceremonies, which we had not seen among the 
other Nations. One of them is, that they serve up their 
Meat in two- or four large Dishes, which are first set down 
before the two principal Guests, who are at one End, and 
when they have eaten a little, those Dishes are shov'd 
down lower and others are served up in their Place, in the 
same Manner ; so that the first Dishes are serv'd at the upper 
End and thrust down lower as others come in. 

He who treats, does not sit down with the Company, 
nor does he eat, but performs the Part of a Steward, tak- 
ing Care of the Dressing and of the Placing of the Meat 
serv'd up ; and to the End he may appear the finer, he never 
fails to iDesmear himself with Clay, or some red or black 
Colouring they make use of. 

The 29th, we set out from that Village, and imbark'd 
on two Canoes to cross the Missisipi. The Chief and about 
a Score of young Eolks bore us Company tO' the next Vil- 
lage call'd Tonningua, seated on the Bank of that River, 
where we were receiv'd in the Chief's Cottage, as we had 
been in the others. The Elders treated us in their Turns, 
and the Descriptions before given will serve for this Place, 
there being but little Difference between them and their 
Neighbours. 

The 30th, we set out for Cappa, the last Village of the 
Accancea's, eight Eeagues distant from^ the Place we had 
left. We were obliged to cross the River Missisipi several 
Times in this Way; because it winds very much, and we 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 183 

had some foul Weather, which made it late before we could Aug. 1687 
reach Cappa. A great Number of Youth came to meet ' 

us, some of them conducted us to the Chief's Cottage, and 
others took Care of our Baggage, which was restor'd to 
us very honestly. We found the Elders waiting for us; a 
great Fire was kindled tO' dry us, and the Cottage was 
lighted by several burning Reeds,^ which they make use of 
instead of Flambeaus; after which we were serv'd as in 
other Places. 

The 31st, we receiv'd Visits from the Elders. Their 
Discourse ran upon the War they design'd to make, think- 
ing to ingage us in it, and we return' d the same Answer as 
we had done to the others, that we would soon return with 
all Things we stood in Need of. We ask'd a Man of them, 
which was granted, and the Day ended in Feasting. 

We would willingly have set out the First of August ; ^*''^^^^'^i"- 
but the Chief came and told us, it could not be, because the by the In- 
Women had not pounded our Corn, which however was dians. 
done; but they made use of that Pretence to oblige us to 
stay, and to have Leisure to give us some Diversion, after 
their Manner. Accordingly, about Ten in the Morning, 
the Warriors and Youth came together to Dance. They 
were dress'd after their best Manner, some of them wearing 
Plumes of several Colours, wherewith they adorn their 
Heads, others, instead of Feathers, had two Bullocks Horns, 
and were all besmear'd with Clay, of Black or of Red, so 
that they really look'd like a Company of Devils or Mon- 
sters, and in those Figures they danc'd, as I have describ'd 
it, speaking of the other Nations. 

The Second, we made ready tO' be going. The Indian 
given by the first Village for our Guide, would not go any 
farther. A Man, said to be an Hermaphrodite, offered to 
supply his Place, saying, he was willing to go to the Islinois. 
We took Leave of the Sieur Couture, to whom Monsr. 
Cavelier made an Exhortation, encouraging him to per- 

1 Fr. " des Cannes seiches allumees " — dry reeds aflame. 



184 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Aug. 1687 severe and have Patience, in Hopes of the Rehef we wou'd 
* send him, and so we imbark'd on the Missisipi in a Canoe, 
being Nine in Number, that is, five of us, and the four 
Indians that were our Guides. We were obhg'd to cross 
that River very often, and no less frequently to carry our 
Canoe and Goods, as well on Account of the Rapidity of 
the River, and to find it slacker on the one or the other 
Side of it, which was very troublesome to our Guides, as 
because of the little islands we met with, which are form'd 
by the impetuous beating of the Water upon the Banks, 
that oppose its Course, where the Channels happen not to 
lie strait; there it washes away the Earth and bears down 
great Trees, which in Process of Time form little Islands, 
that divide the Channel. At Night we incamp'd in one of 
those small Islands, for our greater Safety, for we were 

Machiga- then come into an Enemy's Nation, call'd Machigamea, 

mea Nation, which put our Indians into great Frights. 

It is certain our Toil was very great, for we were oblig'd 
to row in the Canoe, to help our Indians to stem the Cur- 
rent of the River, because we were going up, and it was 
very strong and rapid ; we were often necessitated to land, 
and sometimes to travel over miry Lands, where we sunk up 
half way the Leg; other Times over burning Sands, which 
scorch'd our Feet, having no Shoes, or else over Splinters 
of Wood, which ran into the Soles of our Feet, and when 
we were come to the resting Place, we were tO' provide 
Fuel to dress our Meat, and provide all Things for our 
Indians, who would not have done so' much as go fetch a 
Cup of Water, tho' we were on the Bank of the River, and 
yet we were happy enough in having them. 

We proceeded on, continually undergoing the same Toil, 
till the Seventh, when, we saw the first Bullock, we had 
met on our Way, since our coming among the Accancea's. 
The Indians, who had a great Mind to eat Flesh, made a 
Sign to me, to go kill it. I pursu'd and Shot, but it did 
not fall, the Indians ran after, kill'd, and came to tell us 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 185 

it must be parch'd, or dry'd, which was accordingly done. Aug. 1687 
I must here take Notice of a Ceremony our Indians per- 
form'd, when they came near the Bullock, before they flead 
him. 

In the first Place, they adorn'd his Head with some Ceremony 
Swans and Bustards Down, dy'd red, and put some Ta- ^^^7/^T^ 
bacco into his Nostrils, and between the Clefts of the Hoofs. 
When they had flead him, they cut out the Tongue, and 
put a Bit of Tabacco into its Place; then they stuck two 
Wooden Forks into the Ground, laid a Stick across them, 
on which they plac'd several Slices of the Flesh, in the 
Nature of an Offering. The Ceremony being ended, we 
parch'd or dry'd the best Parts of the Beast and proceeded 
on our Journey. 

The 9th, we found the Banks of the River very high, Banks of 
and the Earth of them Yellow, Red and White, and thither -^^^0^ 
the Natives came to furnish themselves with it, to adorn 
their Bodies, on Festival Days. We held on our Way till 
the 14th, when we met a Herd of Bullocks, whereof we 
kill'd five, dry'd Part of them, and proceeded till the i8th. 

The 19th, we came to the Mouth of the River, call'd Houabache 
Houabache, said to come from the Country of the Iroquois, ^*^^^- 
towards Nezu England. That is a very fine River, its 
Water extraordinary clear, and the Current of it, gentle. 
Our Indians ofifer'd up to it, by Way of Sacrifice, some 
Tabacco and Beef Steaks, which they fix'd on Forks, and 
left them on the Bank, to be dispos'd of as the River thought 
fit. We observ'd some other Superstitions among those 
poor People, one whereof was as follows. 

There were some certain Days, on which they Fasted, Indian Fast. 
and we knew them, when as soon as they awak'd, they be- 
smear'd their Faces and Arms, or other Parts of their 
Bodies, with a slimy Sort of Earth, or pounded Charcoal; 
for that Day they did not eat till Ten or Eleven of the 
Clock at Night, and before they did eat they were to wipe 
off that Smearing, and had Water brought them for that 



i86 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Au?. 1687 Purpose. The Occasion of their Fasting was, as they gave 
us to understand, that they might have good Success in 
Hunting, and kill Abundance of Bullocks. 
Salt Water We held on our Way till the 25th, when the Indians 
Spring. shew'd US a Spring of Salt Water, within a Musket Shot of 
us, and made us go ashore to view it. We observ'd the 
Ground about it was much beaten by Bullocks Feet, and 
it is likely they love that Salt Water. The Country about, 
was full of Hillocks, cover'd with Oaks and Wallnut-Trees, 
Abundance of Plum-Trees, almost all the Plums red and 
pretty good, besides great Store of other Sorts of Fruits, 
Wild Fruit, whose Names we know not, and among them one shap'd 
likg a midling Pear, with Stones in it as big as large 
Beans. When ripe it peels like a Peach, the Taste is in- 
different good, but rather of the Sweetest. 

The 27th, having discover'd a Herd of Beeves, we went 
ashore to kill some; I shot a Heifer, which was very good 
Meat, we put a Board the best of it, and held on our Way 
till the Evening, when we encamp'd on an Island, where we 
observ'd an alteration in the Humour and Behaviour of 
our Indians. This put us under some Apprehension, and 
the more, for that he who was reckon'd an Hermaphrodite, 
told us, they intended to leave us, which oblig'd us to secure 
our Arms and double our Watch during the Night, for Fear 
they should forsake us. 

With that Jealousy we proceeded on our Journey the 
28th and 29th, coasting along the Foot of an upright Rock, 
about sixty, or eighty Foot high, round which the River 
Missouris glides. Held on the 30th and 31st, and the first of Septem- 
Rtver. jj^y pass'd by the Mouth of a River call'd Missouris, whose 

Water is always thick, and to which our Indians did not 
forget to offer Sacrifice. 

Figure of a The 2d, we arriv'd at the Place, where the Figure is of 

pretended 

Monster. the pretended Monster spoken of by Father Marquct. That 

Monster consists of two scurvy Figures drawn in red, on the 

flat Side of a Rock, about eight or ten Foot high, which 

wants very much of the extraordinary Height that Re- 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 187 

lation mentions. However our hidians paid Homage, by Sept. 1687 
offering Sacrifice to that Stone; tho' we endeavour'd to 
give them to understand, that the said Rock had no Man- 
ner of Virtue, and that we worshiped something above it, 
ix)inting up to Heaven ; but it was to no Purpose, and they 
made Signs to us, that they should die if they did not per- 
form that Duty. We proceeded, coasting along a Chain 
of Mountains, and at length, on the 3d, left the Missisipi, ^*^^^of *^e 
to enter the River of the Islinois. 

We found a great Alteration in that River, as well with 
Respect to its Course, which is very gentle, as tO' the Coun- 
try about it, which is much more agreeable and beautiful 
than that about the great River, by Reason of the many 
fine Woods and Variety of Fruit its Banks are adorn'd with. 
It was a veiy great comfort to us, to find so much Ease 
in going up that River, by Reason of its gentle Stream, so 
that we all stay'd in the Canoe and made much more Way. 

Thus we went on till the 8th, without stopping any inji^n dies 
longer than to kill a Bullock, and one of our hidians, wdio of eating 
had a craving Stomach, having eaten some of its Suet hot ^"^ 
and raw, was taken very ill, and died of it, as I shall men- 
tion in its Place. 

The 9th, we came into a Lake, about half a League over, 
which we cross'd, and return'd into the Channel of the 
River, on the Banks whereof we found several Marks of 
the Natives having been incamp'd there, when they came 
to fish and dry what they caught. The loth, we cross'd 
another Lake, call'd Primitehouy, return'd to the River, 
and the i ith, saw Indians before us, incamp'd on the Bank 
of a River, whereupon we stop'd and made ready our Arms. 
In the mean Time, one of them came towards us by Land, 
and we put on our Canoe towards him. 

When that Indian was near, he stood gazing on us, with- Meeting 
out speaking a Word, and then drawing still nearer, we ^*f^ ^^'*' 
gave him to understand, that we were sent by Monsieur 
de la Sale, and came from him. Then he made Signs to 
us, to advance towards his People, whom, he went before to 



1 88 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Sept. 1687 acquaint with what he had said to him, so that when we 
were come near them they fired Several Shot to salute us, 
and we answer'd them with our Firelocks. 

After that mutual Salutation, they came into our Canoe, 
to signify, they were glad to hear News of Monsieur de la 
Sale. We ask'd them, What Nation they were of; they 
answer'd. They were Islinois, of a Canton call'd Cascasquia. 
We enquir'd whether Monsieur Tonty was at Fort Lewis; 
they gave us to understand, that he was not, but that he 
was gone to the War against the Iroquois. They invited 
us Ashore, to go with them to eat of such as they had, we 
thank'd them, and they brought us some Gourds and Water 
Melons, in Exchange for which, we gave them some parch'd 
Flesh. 

We had not by the Way taken Notice of a Canoe, in 
which was a Man with two Women, who, being afraid of 
us, had hid themselves among the Reeds, but that man see- 
ing us stop among his Countrymen, took Heart, came to 
us, and having told us, that he belong'd to a Village near 
Fort Lewis, we set out together, and one of our Indians 
went into that Canoe, to help them to shove, so they call the 
Way of pushing on the Canoe with Poles instead of rowing. 
Fort Lewis Qn Sunday, the 14th of September, about two in the 

mnong the . . "^ . ,^-.,, ijrT-«-^ 

Islinois. Afternoon, we came mto' the Neighbourhood or rort 

Lewis. Drawing near, we were met by some Indians that 
were on the Bank, who' having view'd us well, and under- 
standing we came from Monsr. de la Sale, and that we be- 
long'd to him, ran to the Fort to carry the News, and 
immediately we saw a French Man come out, with a Com- 
pany of Indians, who fir'd a Volley of several Pieces, to 
salute us. Then the French Man drew near, and desir'd 
us to come Ashore, which we did, leaving only one in the 
Canoe, to take Care of our Baggage; for the Islinois are 
very sharp at carrying off anything they can lay their 
Hands on, and consequently, nothing near so honest as the 

Arrival at Nations we had pass'd thro'. 

Fort Lewis. We all walk'd together towards the Fort, and found 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 189 

three French Men coming to meet us, and among them a Sept. 1687 
Clerk, who had belong'd to the late Monsr. de la Sale, ~ 

nomme Boisrondet. They immediately ask'd us, where 
Monsr. dc la Sale was, we told them, he had brought us 
Part of the Way, and left us at a Place about forty 
Leagues beyond the Cenis, and that he was then in good 
Health. All that was true enough; for Monsr. Cavelier 
and I, who were the Persons, that then spoke, were not 
present at Monsr. de la Sale's Death; he was in good 
Health when he left us, and I have told the Reasons we 
had for concealing his Death, till we came intO' France. 

It is no less true, that Father Anastasius, and he they 
call'd Teisier, could have given a better Account, the one 
as an Eye Witness, and the other, as one of the Mur- 
derers, and they were both with us ; but to avoid lying, 
they said Nothing. We farther told them, we had Orders 
to go over intO' France, to give an Account of the Dis- 
coveries made by Monsieur de la Sale, and to procure the 
sending of Succours. 

At length, we enter'd the Fort, where we found and 
surpriz'd several Persons who did not expect us. All the 
French were under Arms and made several Discharges to Reception. 
welcome us. Monsieur de Belle Fontaine Lieutenant to 
Monsr. Tonty, was at the Head of them and complimented 
us. Then we were conducted to the Chappel, where we 
return'd Thanks to God, from the Bottom of our Hearts, 
for having preserv'd and conducted us in Safety; after 
which we had our Lodgings assigned us, Monsr. Cavelier 
and Father Anastasius had one Chamber, and we were put 
into the Magazine, or Ware-house. All this While, the 
Natives came by Intervals, to fire their Pieces, to express 
their Joy for our Return, and for the News we brought of 
Monsieur de la Sale, which refresh'd our Sorrow for his 
Misfortune; perceiving that his Presence would have set- 
tled all Things advantageously. 

The Day after our Arrival, one of the Indians, who had 
conducted us, having been sick ever since he eat the raw 



ipo Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Sept. 1687 Beef Suet, I mention'd before, died, and his Companions 
took away and bury'd him privately. We gave them the 
promis'd Reward, and the Part belonging to the Dead 
Man, to be deliver'd to his Relations. They stay'd some 
Time in the Fort, during the which, we took extraordinary 
Care of them, and at last they return'd to their own Homes. 

As far as we could gather by half Words dropp'd there 
by one or other at the Fort, Something had been done 
there prejudicial to the Service of Monsr. de la Sale, and 
against his Authority, and therefore some dreaded his Re- 
turn, but more especially a Jesuit was in great Consterna- 
tion. He was sick, Monsieur Cavelier, Father Anastasius 
and I went to visit him. He enquired very particularly of 
all Points, and could not conceal his Trouble, which we 
would not seem to take Notice of. 

Our Design being to make the best of our way to Can- 
ada, in Order to set out Aboard the first French Ships that 
should Sail for France, we enquired how we were to pro- 
ceed, and met with several Difficulties. The Navigation 
Falls in the on that River was very Dangerous,^ by Reason of the Falls 
*^^^' there are in it, which must be carefully avoided, unless a 

Man will run an inevitable Hazard of perishing. There 
were few Persons capable of managing that Affair, and 
the War with the Iroquois made all Men afraid. 

However the Sieur Boisrondet, Clerk to the late Monsr. 
de la Sale, having told us he had a Canoe, in which he 
design' d to go down to Canada, we prepared to make use 
of that Opportunity. Care was taken to gather Provisions 
for our Voyage, to get Furs to barter as we pass'd by 
Micilimaquinay. The Visits of two Chiefs of Nations, 
call'd Cascasquia Peroucria and Cacahouanous discover'd 
by the late Monsieur de la Sale, did not interrupt our Af- 
fairs, and all things being ready on the ist, we took Leave 
on the 1 8th, of those we left in the Fort. Monsieur Cave- 
lier writ a Letter for Monsieur Tonty, which he left there 

1 Fr. " difficile "— difficult. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 191 

to be delivered to him, and we repair'd to the Lake to Oct. 1687 
imbark. " 

It woiild be needless to relate all the Troubles and Hard- 
ships we met with, in that Journey, it was painful and 
fruitless, for having gone to the Bank of the Lake, in very 
foul Weather, after waiting there eight Days, for that foul 

Weather to cease, and after we had imbark' d, not with- M. Cave- 

• licr &*c set 
standing the Storm, we were oblig'd to put Ashore agam, Q^t and 

to return toi the Place where we had imbark'd, and there to returns 

dig a Hole in the Earth, to bury our Baggage and Pro- '^ 

visions, to save the Trouble of carrying them back to Fort 

Lczms, whither we return'd and arrived there the 7th of 

October; where they were surpriz'd to see us come back. 

Thus were we oblig'd to continue in that Fort all the 
rest of Autumn and Part of the Winter, to our great Sor- » 

row, and not so much for our own Disappointment, as 
for being, by that Means, obstructed from sending of Suc- 
cours, as soon as we had expected, as well to the said Fort, 
as to those French of our own Company, whom we had 
left on the Coast of the Bay of Mexico. 

It was then the good Season for shooting. Those Gen- 
tlemen at the Fort had secur'd two good Indian Sports- 
men, who' never let us want for Wild Fowl of all Sorts; 
besides we had good Bread, and as good Fruit, and had 
there been any Thing to drink besides Water, we had far'd 
well. The Leisure we had during our Stay there, gave me 
an Opportunity of making the following Remarks, as well 
of my own Observation, as what I learn' d of the French 
residing there. 

Fort Lewis is in the Country of the hlinois and seated Description 
on a steep Rock, about two hundred Foot high, the River of Fort 
running at the Bottom of it. It is only fortified with ^^^^ Country 
Stakes and Palisades, and some Houses advancing to the about it. 
Edge of the Rock. It has a very spacious Esplanade, or 
Place of Arms. The Place is naturally strong, and might 
be made so by Art, with little Expence. Several of the 
Natives live in it, in their Huts. I cannot give an Account 



192 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Oct. 1687 of the Latitude it stands in, for Want of proper Instru- 
~~ ments to take an Observation, but Nothing can be pleas- 
anter; and it may be truly affirm'd, that the Country of the 
hlinois enjoys all that can make it accomplish' d, not only 
as to Ornament, but also for its plentiful Production of all 
Things requisite for the Support of human Life. 

The Plain, which is water'd by the River, is beautified 
by two small Hills, about half a League distant from the 
Fort, and those Hills are cover' d with Groves of Oaks, 
Walnut-Trees and other Sorts I have named elsewhere. 

Lime and The Fields are full of Grass, growing up very high. On 

^°'^J°^r. the Sides of the Hills is found a gravelly Sort of Stone, 

' ■ very fit to make Lime for Building. There are also many 

Clay Pits, fit for making of Earthen Ware, Bricks and 

Tiles, and along the River there are Coal Pits, the Coal 

whereof has been try'd and found very good. 

Mines. There is no Reason to question, but that there are in 

this Country, Mines of all Sorts of Metals, and of the rich- 
est, the Climate being the same as that of Nezv Mexico. 
We saw several Spots, where it appeared there were Iron 
Mines, and found some Pieces of it on the Bank of the 
River, which Nature had cleansed. Travellers who have 
been at the upper Part of the Missisipi, affirm that they 
have found Mines there, of very good Lead. 

Product. That Country is one of the most temperate in the World, 

and consequently whatsoever is sow'd there, whether 
Herbs, Roots, Indian and even European Corn thrives 
very well, as has been try'd by the Sieur Boisrondet, who 
sow'd of all Sorts, and had a plentiful Crop, and we eat of 
the Bread, which was very good. And whereas we were 
assured, that there were Vines which run up, whose Grapes 
are very good and delicious, growing along the River, it is 
reasonable to believe, that if those Vines were transplanted 
and prun'd, there might be very good Wine made of them. 
There is also Plenty of wild Apple and Pear Trees, and of 
several other Sorts, which would afford excellent Fruit, 
were they grafted and transplanted. 



hito NORTH AMERICA. 193 

All other Sorts of Fruit, as Plumbs, Peaches and others, Oct. 1687 
wherewith the Country abounds, would become exquisite, 
if the same Industry were us'd, and other Sorts of Fruit 
we have in France would thrive well, if they were carry'd 
over. The Earth produces a Sort of Hemp, whereof Cloth 
might be made and Cordage. 

As for the Manners and Customs of the Islinois, in many Manners 
Particulars they are the same as those of the other Nations o"^ Cus- 
we have seen. They are naturally fierce and revengeful, islinois. 
and among them the Toil of Sowing, Planting, carrying 
of Burdens, and doing all other Things that belong to the Women do 
Support of Life, appertains peculiarly tO' the Women. The "" Labour. 
Men have no other Business but going to the War and 
hunting, and the women must fetch the Game when they 
have kill'd it, which sometimes they are to carry very far 
to their Dwellings, and there to parch, or dress it any other 
Way. 

When the Corn or other Grain is sow'd, the Women 
secure it from the Birds till it comes up. Those Birds are 
a sort of Starlings, like ours in France, but larger and fly 
in great Swarms. 

The Islinois have but few Children, and are extremely Children. 
fond of them; it is the Custom among them, as well as 
others I have mentioned, never to chide, or beat them, but 
only to throw Water at them, by Way of Chastisement. 

The Nations we have spoken of before, are not at all, or Thieving. 
very little, addicted to Thieving; but it is not so with the 
Islinois, and it behoves every Man to watch their Feet as 
well as their Hands, for they know how to turn any Thing 
out of the Way most dexterously. They are subject to the 
general Vice of all the other Indians, which is to boast very Boasting. 
much of their Warlike Exploits, and that is the main Sub- 
ject of their Discourse, and they are very great Lyars. 

They pay a Respect to their Dead, as appears by their Care of the 
special Care of burying them, and even of putting into 
Coffins placed high above the ground, the Bodies of such 
as are considerable among them, as their Chiefs and others, 
13 



194 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Oct. 1687 which is also practiced among the Accancea's, but they dif- 
j ~~ fer in this Particular, that the Accancea's weepi and make 

their Complaints for some Days, whereas the Chahouanous 
and other People of the Islinois Nation do just the Con- 
trary; for when any of them die, they wrap them up in 
Skins, and then put them into Coffins made of the Barks 
of Trees, then sing and dance about them for twenty four 
Hours. Those Dancers take Care to tie Calabashes, or 
Gourds about their Bodies, with some Indian Wheat in 
them, to rattle and make a Noise, and some of them have a 
Drum, made of a great Earthen Pot, on which they extend 
a wild Goat's Skin, and beat thereon with one Stick, like 
our Tabors. 
Presents to During that Rejoicing, they throw their Presents on the 
the Dead, ^^^ffi^, as Bracelets, Pendants, or Pieces of Earthen Ware, 
and Strings of Beads, encouraging the Singers to perform 
their Duty well. If any Friend happens to come thither 
at that Time, he immediately throws down his Present and 
falls a singing and dancing like the rest. When that Cere- 
mony is over, they bury the Body, with Part of the Pres- 
ents, making choice of such as may be most proper for it. 
They also bury with it, some Store of Indian Wheat, with 
a Pot to boil it in, for fear the dead Person should be 
hungry on his long Journey; and they repeat the same 
Ceremony at the Year's End. 
Game of the A good Number of Presents still remaining, they divide 
*^ ■ them into several Lots, and play at a Game, call'd of the 

Stick, to give them to the Winner. That Game is play'd, 
taking a short Stick, very smooth and greas'd, that it may 
be the Harder to hold it fast. One of the Elders throws 
that Stick as far as he can, the young Alen run after it, 
snatch it from each other, and at last, he who remains 
possess'd of it, has the first Lot. The Stick is then thrown 
again, he who keeps it then has the second Lot, and so on 
to the End. The Women, whose Husbands have been 
slain in War, often perform the same Ceremony, and treat 
the Singers and Dancers whom they have before invited. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 195 

The Marriages of the Islinois last no longer, than the Oct. 1687 
Parties agree together; for they freely part after a Hunt- Marriages. 
ing Bout, each going which Way they please, without any 
Ceremony. However, the Men are jealous enough of their 
Wives, and when they catch them in a Fault, they generally 
cut off their Noses, and I saw one who had been so serv'd. 

Nevertheless, Adultery is not reckon'd any great Crime Adultery. 
among them, and there are Women who make no Secret 
of having had to do with French Men. Yet are they not 
sufficiently addicted to that Vice to offer themselves, and 
they never fall, unless they are sued to, when, they are none 
of the most difficult in the World to be prevail'd on. The 
rest I leave to those who have liv'd longer there than I. 

We continu'd some Time in Fort Lezvis, without receiv- 
ing any News. Our Business was, after having heard Mass, 
which we had the good Fortune to do every Day, to divert 
our selves the best we could. The Indian Women daily //^^, ^/i^ 
brousfht in something fresh, we wanted not for Water Travellers 
Melons, Bread made of Indian Corn, bak'd in the Embers, 
and other such Things, and we rewarded them with little 
Presents in Return. 

On the 27th of October, of the same Year, Monsieur M. Tonty 
Tonty return'd from the War with the Iroquois.^ Our ^oT/^Lewis 
Embraces and the Relation of our Adventures were again 
repeated ; but still concealing from him, the Death of Mon- 
sieur de la Sale. He told us all the Particulars of that, 
war, and said. That the Iroquois having got Intelligence of War with 
the March of the French Forces and their Allies, had all q^ois. 
come out of their Villages and laid themselves in Ambush 
by the Way; but that having made a sudden and general 
Discharge upon our Men, with their usual Cries, yet with- 
out much Harm done, they had been repuls'd with Loss, 
took their Flight, and by the Way burnt all their own 

1 This was the famous expedition of the Marquis de Nonville 
against the Senecas, in which Tonti, Du Shut and Duromtage, came 
to the aid of the Governor, with i8o French courcurs de bois and 400 
Indians from the upper lakes. 



196 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Oct. 1687 Villages. That Monsieur d' Hennonville^ chief Govemor 
~~ of New France, had caus'd the Army to march, to bum the 

rest of their Villages, set Fire tO' their Country and Com, 
but would not proceed any farther. That afterwards he 
had made himself Master of several Canoes belonging to 
the English, most of them laden with Brandy, which had 
been plunder'd; that the English had been sent Prisoners 
to Montreal, they being come to make some Attempt upon 
the Islinois. 
Dec. 1687 We continued after this Manner, till the Month of De- 

cember, when two Men arrived, from Montreal. They came 
to give Notice to Monsr. Tonty, that three Canoes, laden 
with Merchandize, Powder, Ball and other Things, were 
arriv'd at Chicagou, that there being two little Water in 
the River, and what there was being frozen, they could 
come down no lower ; so that it being requisite to send Men 
to fetch those Things, Monsr. Tonty desir'd the Chief of 
the Chahouanous to furnish him with People. That Chief 
accordingly provided forty, as well Men as Women, who 
set out with some French Men. The Honesty of the 
Chahouanous was the Reason of preferring them before the 
Islinois, who are naturally Knaves. 
Feb. 1688 That Ammunition and the Merchandize were soon 

brought, and very seasonably, the Fort being then in Want. 
We stay'd there till the End of February, 1688, at which 
Time we fix'd our Resolution to depart, tho' we had no 
News from Canada, as we expected. We found there were 
some Canoes ready to undertake that Voyage, and we laid 
hold of that Opportunity to convoy each other to the 
Micilimaquinay , where we hop'd to meet some News from 
Canada. 
Mar. 1688 Monsieur Cavelier the Priest, had taken Care, before 
the Death of M. de la Sale, his Brother, to get of him a 
Letter of Credit, to receive either a Sum of Money or Furs 
in the Country of the Islinois. He tender'd that Letter to 

1 The Marquis De Nonville, Governor General of Canada. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 197 

M. Tonty, who believing M. de la Sale was still alive, made Mar. 1688 
no Difficulty of giving him to the Value of about 4000 ~ 

Livres in Furs, Castors and Otter Skins, a Canoe and other 
Effects, for which, the said Monsr. Cavelier gave him his 
Note,^ and we prepar'd for our Journey. 

I have before observed, that there was a Jesuit, whose 
name was Daloues'^ at Fort Lezvis, and who had been very 
much surpriz'd to hear that Monsr. de la Sale was to come 
in a short Time, being under great Apprehensions on Ac- 
count of a Conspiracy intended to have been carry'd on, 
against Monsr. de la Sale's Interest. That Father perceiv- 
ing our Departure was fix'd, mov'd first, and went away 
foremost, to return to Micilimaquinay f so that they were 
left without a Priest at Fort Lewis, which was a great 
Trouble to us, because we were the Occasion of it, and 
therefore those, who were to remain in the Fort, antici- 
pated the Time, and made their Easter, taking the Ad- 
vantage of the Presence of F. Anastasius and M. Cavelier. 

At length, we set out the 21st of March, from Fort 
Lewis. The Sieur Boisrondet, who' was desirous to return The Travel 
to France, join' d us, we imbark'd on the River, which was '^^^'*"**^''- 
then become navigable, and before we had advanc'd five 
Leagues, met with a rapid Stream, which oblig'd us to go 
Ashore, and then again into the Water, to^ draw along our 
Canoe. I had the Misfortune to hurt one of my Feet against 
a Rock that lay under Water, which troubled me very 
much for a long Time; and we being under a Necessity 
of going often into the Water, I suffer'd extreamly, and 
more than I had done since; our Departure from the Gulph 
of Mexico. 

We arriv'd at Chicagou the 29th of March, and our first 
Care was to gO' seek what we had conceal' d at our former 
Voyage, having, as was there said, bury'd our Luggage and 
Provisions. We found it had been open'd, and some Furs 

1 Fr. billet & reconnoissance " — i. e., note and receipt. 

2 Father Claude Allouez. 

3 Michilimackinac. 



198 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Mar. 1688 and Linen taken away, almost all which belong'd to me. 

' This had been done by a French Man, whom M. Tonty had 

sent from the Fort, during the Winter Season, to know 
whether there were any Canoes at Chicagou, and whom he 
had directed to see whether any Body had medled with what 
we had conceal'd, and he made Use of that Advice to rob us. 
The bad Weather oblig'd us to stay in that Place, till 
April. That Time of Rest was advantageous for the Heal- 
ing my Foot; and there being but very little Game in that 
Place, we had Nothing but our Meal or Indian Wheat to 
feed on; yet we discover'd a Kind of Manna,^ which was 

Sweet a great Help to us. It was a Sort of Trees, resembling our 

Water from Maple, in which we made Incisions, whence flow'd a sweet 
Liquor, and in it we boil'd our Indian Wheat, which made 
it delicious, sweet and of a very agreeable Relish. 

There being no Sugar-Canes in that Country, those Trees 
supply'd that Liquor, which being boil'd up and evaporated, 
turn'd into a Kind of Sugar somewhat brownish, but very 
good. In the Woods we found a Sort of Garlick, not so 
strong as ours, and small Onions very like ours in Taste, 
and some CharveP of the same Relish as that we have, but 
different in the Leaf. 

The Weather being somewhat mended, we imbark'd again 
and enter' d upon the Lake on the 8tli of April, keeping to 
the North Side to shun the Iroquois. We had some Storms 
also, and saw swelling Waves like those of the Sea; but 

Quinetanan arriv'd safe the 15th at a River call'd Quinetonan, near a 
Village whence, the Inhabitants depart during the Winter 
Season, to go a Hunting, and reside there all the Summer. 
The Sport is not there as in those Countries from whence 
we came; but on the Contrary, very poor, and we found 
Nothing but some very' lean Wild Goats, and even those 
very rarely, because the Wolves, which are very numerous 
there, make great Havock of them, taking and devouring 
great Numbers after this Manner. 

1 Fr. " manne " — maple sap ? 

2 Fr. " cerfeiiil " — chervil. 



River. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 199 

When the Wolves have discover'd a Herd of Wild Goats, Apr. 1688 
they rouse and set them a running-. The Wild Goats never J^^ 
fail to take to the lirst Lake they meet with. The hunting Wolves 
Wolves, who are used to that, guard the Banks carefully, ^^^^ ^°*^' 
moving along the Edges of them. The poor Goats being 
pierc'd by the Cold of the Lake, grow weary and so get 
out, or else the River swelling forces them out with its 
Waves, quite benumm'd, so that they are easily taken by 
tlieir Enemies, who devour them. We frequently saw those 
Wolves watching along the Side of the Lake, and kept off 
to avoid frightning them, to the End the Wild Goats might 
not quit their Sanctuary, that we might catch some of them, 
as it sometimes fell out. 

The 28th, we arriv'd among the Poutouatanms, which Poutoua- 
is half Way tO' Micilimaquinay , where we purchas'd some tion. 
Indian Corn for the rest of our Voyage, We left there 
on the last of the month, and we arrived on the loth of 
May at the said place of Michilimacinac. We found no 
News there from Montreal, and were forc'd to stay some 
Time to wait an Opportunity to go down the River; No 
Man daring to venture, because of the War with the 
Iroquois. 

There are some French Men in that Place, and four Hurons 
Jesuits, who have a House well built with Timber, inclosed houacs 
with Stakes and Palisades. There are also some Hurons Nations. 
and Outahouacs, two Neighbouring Nations, whom those j^ ^588 
Fathers take Care to instruct, not without very much 
Trouble, those People being downright Libertines, and 
there are very often none but a few Women in their 
Churches. Those Fathers have each of them the Charge 
of instructing a Nation, and to that Effect have translated 
the Prayers into the Language peculiar to each of them, as 
also all other Things relating to the Catholick Faith and 
Religion. 

They offer' d Father Anastasius and Monsieur Cavelier June 1688 
a Room, which they accepted of, and we took up our Lodg- 
ing in a little Hovel some Travellers had made. There we 



200 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 



July 1688 



Islinois 
and Hu- 
rons. 



French 
River. 



continued the rest of May and Part of Jime, till after the 
Feast of Whitsontide. The Natives of the Country about, 
till the Land and sow Indian Corn, Melons and Gourds, 
but they do' not thrive so well as in the Country we came 
from. However they live on them, and besides they have 
Fish they catch in the Lake, for Flesh is very scarce among 
them. 

On the 4th of June, there arriv'd four Canoes, com- 
manded by Monsieur de Porneuf, coming from Montreal, 
and bringing News from the Marques d' Hennonville, and 
Orders to send tO' the Settlements which were towards the 
Lake des Puans and others higher up, towards the Source 
of the River Colbert, to know the Posture and Condition 
of Affairs. We prepar'd to be gone with the two Canoes. 
Monsieur Cavelier bought another, to carry our Baggage, 
and left Part of his Furs with a Merchant, who gave him 
a Note to receive Money at Montreal. I did the same 
with those few Furs I had, the rest of them having been 
left at Micilimaquinay. 

We took Leave of the Jesuits, and set out in four Canoes, 
vis. two belonging to Monsieur de Porneuf, and two to 
Monsieur Cavelier, one of which had been brought from 
Fort Lewis, and the other bought, as I have just now said, 
we being twenty-nine of us in those four Canoes. We sail'd 
on till the 24th, when Monsieur de Porneuf left us to go to 
St. Mary's Fall, to carry the Orders given him. The 25th, 
we got out of the Lake of the Islinois, to enter that of the 
Hurons, on the Banks whereof stands the Village, call'd 
Tessalon, where Monsieur de Porneuf came again to us, the 
27th, with a Canoe of the Natives, and with him we held 
on our Way. 

We proceeded to Chehonany the 30th of June, and the 
3d of July, enter'd the French River, where we were forc'd 
several Times to carry our Canoes to avoid the Falls and 
the rapid Streams, observing as we went a barren and dry 
Country, full of Rocks, on which there grow Cedars and 
Fir Trees, which take Root in the Clefts of those Rocks. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 201 

The 5(;h, we enter'd upon the Httle Lake of Nipicinguc, Aug. 1688 
adjoining to a Nation of that Name. We got out of it Nipicingue 
again the 7th, and enter'd upon the great River, where, Lake. 
after having pass'd the great Fall, we arriv'd the 13th, 
at the Point of the Island of Montreal. We landed at a 
Village call'd la Chine, which had belong'd to the late 
Monsr. de la Sale. Monsr. Cavelier set out the 14th, for Arrival at 
Montreal, where we came to him the 17th. Montreal. 

At Montreal we found the Marques d' Hennonville, Mon- 
sieur de Noroy the Intendant and other Gentlemen, to 
whom we gave an Account of our long and painful Travels, 
with the Particulars of what we had seen, which they listned 
to with Satisfaction, but without mentioning Monsieur de 
la Sale's Death. We told them the Occasion of our going 
over into France, and they approv'd of it, being of Opinion 
with us, that we ought to hasten our Departure as much 
as possible. 

AVe made us some Cloaths, whereof we stood in Need. 
The Sieur Tessier, who came along with us, and was of the 
Reform'd Religion, knowing the Exercise of it was forbid 
in France, abjur'd it in the great Church of Montreal. 

The 27tli, we went aboard a Bark to go down the River Arrival at 
to Quebec, where we arriv'd the 29th, Father Anastasius Q^^"^^- 
carry' d us to the Monastery of the Fathers of his Order, 
seated half a League from the Town, on a little River, 
where we were most kindly receiv'd by the Father Guardian 
and the other Religious Men, who express'd much Joy to 
see us, and we still more for being in a Place of Safety, 
after so many Perils and Toils, for which we return'd our 
humble Thanks to Almighty God, our Protector. 

We chose rather to take up our Lodging there than in 
the Town, to avoid the Visits and troublesome Questions 
every one would be putting to us with much Importunity, 
which we must have been oblig'd to bear patiently. Mon- 
sieur Cavelier and his Nephew, whom w^e had left at Mon- 
treal, arriv'd some Days after us, and were lodg'd in the 
Seminary. 



202 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Aug. 1688 We stay'd in that Monastery till the 21st of Augitst, 
when we imbark'd on a large Boat, eighteen Persons of us, 
to go down the River of St. Lawrence, a Board a Ship, that 
was taking in and fishing of Cod, in order to reach France. 
We went a Board it the 30th of the same Month, and after 
hearing Mass, made ready and sail'd for our dear Country, 
arriv'd safe at Rochelle on Saturday the 9th of October 
1688, whence, setting out by Land, Friday the 15th, the 
same Providence, which had protected and conducted us, 
brought us without any Misfortune to Roan, the 17th of 
October, the same Year. 

The End of the '] 0\] R^ Kl. ."■ 

1 The concealment of the fact of La Salle's death, which was main- 
tained by this party of survivors, until, and for some time after, their 
return to France, gave rise to an heroic manifestation of courage and 
friendship, by the Chevalier Tonti, who had been left in charge of 
Fort Louis on the Illinois. 

Although they had been, on their journey northward, to Canada, 
the guests of that officer at Fort St. Louis, from September, 1687, till 
the end of February, 1688, they had made no disclosure of that fact. 
And, it was not until some months later, that Tonti heard of it, from 
the lips of one of his own men, Conture by name, who had been left 
at the Arkansas, and who had been told of it by the Abbe Cavelier him- 
self. Meanwhile Tonti had received from and paid over to his 
reverend guest an order from La Salle for over 2,500 livres in beaver 
and supplies, on which money the party had made their further journey 
homeward. 

Learning now, for the first time, with what grief and indignation 
we may well imagine, of the death of his beloved friend and chief; and 
also that the Arkansas Indians were anxious to join with the French 
in an invasion of Mexico — which information was also followed by an 
official notification from the Governor of Canada, that war had again 
been declared against Spain, Tonti decided to rescue, if possible, the 
remaining members of La Salle's party on the Gulf coast; and, by 
making them the nucleus of a small arm}', to cross the Rio Grande, 
and thus win a new province for France. 

Leaving the fort early in December, in a canoe, with five French- 
men, an Indian warrior and two other Indians, he reached the home 
of the Caddoes in Red River, by the last of March, 1688, and was 
preparing to push on to a village eighty miles distant in search of 
Hiens and his companions, when he was left almost helpless by the 
refusal of all his men, except one Frenchman and the Indian warrior, to 
longer pursue the tiresome journey they had thus far made. But, with 
the two faithful ones, he pushed on, losing nearly all their ammunition 
in crossing a river, and finding, upon reaching the village where he 
had expected to find them, that they had been killed. As his ammuni- 
tion was lost, and the Indians refused to furnish him guides, he could 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 203 

The Remainder of the LETTER, written by him who 
revis'd this Journal^ the other Part whereof is at 
the Beginning of if, this being the Sequel to the said 
Journal. 

THREE several Authors have given an Account of Note, That 
this Voyage ; First, Father le Clerk, upon the Re- these have 

. . , 1SJT1 1 or 

lations he had from the Fathers Zenobius and Atiastasius, tj^ose Parts, 
Recolets, as he was himself and both of them Eye-Wit- *"f none of 
nesses : Secondly, The Chevalier Tonty, who was also a ticular 
Witness to a considerable Part of those Adventures : And, Voyage. 
Lastly, Father Hennepin, sl Flemming, of the same Order 
of the Recolets, has done it more largely ; he seems to be well 

only return to the Arkansas country which he only reached by the end 
of July, after traversing a flooded country, in a ceaseless rain, some- 
times by wading, sometimes by rafts, breaking their way with hatchets 
through the inundated cane brakes, and finally having to kill and eat 
their dogs. Even Tonti, the hero of many such emergencies of travel, 
confessed, " I never in my life suffered so much." Then followed an 
attack of fever, after the abatement of which he arrived at his fort, 
in September, 1689. This heroic attempt marks, more distinctly than 
any other, the character of Tonti, who, in the language of the mis- 
sionary, St. Cosmo, who traveled under his escort in 1699, was 
" beloved by all voyageurs — the man who best knows the country — 
he is loved and feared everywhere." Tonti was a robust man in 
appearance, and had (as has been already said) but one hand, but he 
truly had a great soul within him — Courageous, generous and loyal. 
Though holding a captain's commission, he had, as late as 1690, never 
received any pay; but in that year the proprietorship of the Fort St. 
Louis of the Illinois was granted to him jointly with La Forest, La 
Salle's then lieutenant — and there they carried on a fur trade; and in 
1699, they were granted further privileges of trade, by a royal proclama- 
tion. In 1702, a royal order assigned La Forest to Canada, and Tonti 
to residence on the Mississippi. Tonti, in that year, joined D'Iberville 
in Lower Louisiana, and was by him sent to secure the alliance of the 
Chickasaws. His after career or the time of his death are unknown. 

Never were mutiny, conspiracy and assassination more signally and 
justly followed by retribution than in the fate of these miscreants 
who had murdered La Salle — as graphically portrayed by Parkman 
{La Salle & the Discovery of the Great West, ii, pp. 212-216. Cham- 
plain edition.) Exiled, by their own deeds, from Canada; in fear of 
their Spanish neighbors, whose dominion they had invaded, they were 
finally overwhelmed by an Indian attack, many of them butchered and 
the fort laid waste. Compulsory domestication among their savage 
captors was the fate of the rest; and when, in 1689 the Spanish general 
Alonzo de Leon visited the ruined fort of St. Louis in Texas, they were 
handed over to him, and expiated their sins in the naval service or 
prisons of Spain. 



204 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

acquainted with the Country, and had a Share in great 
Discoveries; but the Truth of his Relations is much con- 
troverted. It was he who went to the Northward, and 
towards the Source of the Missisipi, which he calls Mecha- 
sipi, and who printed, at Paris, an Account of the Country 
about the River, giving it the Name of Louisiana. He 
ought to have stopp'd there, and not to have gone, as he 
did, into Holland, to set forth another Edition, very much 
enlarg'd, and perhaps not so true, which he dedicated to 
William the Third, Prince of Orange, and afterwards King 
of Great Britain. An Action for a Religious Man no less 
ridiculous than extravagant, not to give it a worse Name; 
for after many great and tedious Encomiums given that 
Protestant Prince, he exhorts and conjures him to turn 
his Thoughts towards those vast Countries, as yet unknown, 
to conquer them and send Colonies thither, to make known 
to those Savage Nations the true God and his Worship, and 
to preach the Gospel. That good Religious Man, whom 
many have falsly thought, on Account of that Extrava- 
gancy, to have renounc'd his Religion, did not consider 
what he said, and consequently has scandaliz'd the Catho- 
licks, and furnish'd the Hugonots with Matter of Laug'h- 
ter; for it is likely, that they being Enemies tO' the Roman 
Church, would employ Recolets to go preach up Popery, as 
they call it in Canada? Or would they introduce any other 
Religion than their own? Can Father Hennepin be ex- 
cuseable in this Point? 

In fine it appears, by all that has been writ by those sev- 
eral Persons concerning that Enterprize, that the Murder 
committed on the Person of Monsieur de la Sale was the 
Occasion of its miscarrying; but that which obstructed the 
making of some Provision in that Case was, the said Mur- 
M de la ^^^^ being conceal'd for the Space of two Years, and that 
Sale's Fort the Spaniards of Mexico having been inform'd of all the 
/A/span- Affair, sent Men, who carry'd off the weak Garrison Mon- 
iards. sieur de la Sale had left in the Fort built by him, near the 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 205 

Place of his Landing", before he penetrated into the Coun- 
try, to find out the Missisipi. They also entirely raz'd that 
Fort, so that Seven or Eight Years elaps'd, till Monsieur 
de Hibcnnllc, a Gentleman of Canada, and a Person of 
Capacity and Courage, famous for his notable Expeditions 
to Hudson's Bay and other Parts, reso'lv'd tO' reassume and 
revive that Project. He came over into France upon that 
Design, and made an Armament about the Year 1698, set 
out and sail'd to the Gulf of Mexico. Being an able Sea- m. de Hi- 
man, he search' d along the Coast so narrowly, that he ^HflK^ 
found the Mouth of that fatal Missisipi and built a Fort for the Mis- 
on it, leaving Men there, with a good Quantity of Ammu- sisipi. 
nition and Provisions, and return'd to France, intending 
to go back with a Reinforcement, as he did, and having 
penetrated far into the Country, discover'd several Savage 
Nations, and join'd Friendship and Alliance with them, as 
also built another Fort, which he left well stor'd with Men 
and Necessaries, return'd into France; but attempting a 
third Voyage, he dy'd by the Way, and thus, for want of 
Relief and Support, that noble Enterprize miscarry'd again. 
But God has now provided for it, and it is the Concern 
of Heaven, for if France is interested on Account of the 
Temporal Advantages it expects, the Church is so in like 
Manner, for the Conversion of the Indians it hopes will 
follow. Accordingly, Providence has taken the Affair in 
Hand, having rais'd the Man, who is the fittest to revive 
and support so important a Project. This is Monsieur 
Crozat, Secretary to the King, a Man of singular Worth, 
very Intelligent, Well-meaning, and prodigiously Rich, who 
without going out of his Closet, has been the Occasion of 
many notable Voyages by Sea, and all of them successful. 
To him, his Majesty, by his Letters Patent, bearing Date 
the 14th of Septemh. 1712. has granted the sole Power to ^^i^\^^^^ 
trade and settle Colonies in the Countries describ'd in this plant Colo- 
Joumal, and which are known to us by the Name of Lomsi- 1^^^ o,nd 
ana and the River Missisipi, from hence forward to be call'd Louisiana. 



2o6 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

the River of St. Leims. The Grant is made to him for 15 
Years, under several Conditions mention'd in the said Let- 
ters Patent, which have been made publick. 

And whereas such a Grant cannot subsist without Blacks, 
he is also allow'd to send a Ship to Guinea to purchase 
them. They may perhaps find there the famous Black 
Aniaga, Brother tO' a King of Guinea^ whom Captain Del- 
bee brought over into France, above Thirty Years ago. 
The King was pleas'd toi have him Educated, Instructed 
and Baptiz'd, the Dauphin^ being his Godfather; then put 
him into his Troop of Musquetiers, and afterwards made 
him a Captain in his own Regiment, where he serv'd Hon- 
ourably. Being desirous to see his own Country again, 
where he promis'd to promote the French Trade, and the 
settling of Missioners, his Majesty loaded him with Pres- 
ents, and order'd a Ship to carry him back to Guinea; but 
as soon as he was there, he no longer remember' d he had 
A Black been baptiz'd, and tum'd again as perfect a Black, as he 
Franc? ^^^ ^^^^^^ before. A Friend of mine, whoi was an Officer 
turns to his aboard a Ship, and hapned tO' be on that Coast in the Year 
CusU)ms. 1708, had two or three Interviews with that Black, who 
came aboard him. He was a great Man in that Country, 
for his Brother was King. He express'd much Gratitude 
for the Kindness that had been shewn him in France, and 
was extraordinary Courteous, and made great Offers to 
those aboard the Ship, and to all such of the Nation as 
would go into Guinea. 

This Navigation to Lomsiana will farther procure us a 
free Resort to the two famous Ports of the Gulf of Mexico, 
znz. The Flavana and Veracruz, where Strangers did not 
use to be admitted, and which we knew only by their Names 
and their Situation in our Maps. 
Veracruz The latter of those Towns is the Port of Nezv Spain, at 

Spafn"' the Bottom of the Bay or Gulf, in 18 Degrees of North 
Latitude, Seated in a Sandy Plain, encompass'd with 

1 The eldest son of Lonis XIV, who had died a year or two before 
the publication of the Fr. original of this Journal. C. C. ed. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 207 

Mountains; beyond which there are Woods and Meadows, 
well Stock'd with Cattle and wild Fowl : the flesh whereof 
is stringy and tasteless. The Air is very Hot, and not 
Healthy, when any Winds blow, except the North, which 
rises commonly once in Eight or Fifteen Days, and holds 
for the Space of Twenty Four Hours, blowing so hard, 
that there is nO' going ashore from the Ships, and then the 
Cold is very piercing. When the Weather is clear there 
plainly appear, on the Road to Mexico, two Mountains ris- 
ing above the Clouds, and forty Eeagues distant, all cover'd 
with Snow. The Streets of Veracni-s are streight as a 
Line; the Houses are handsome and regular; the Fortifica- 
tions next the Land inconsiderable, but the Front of the 
Town next the Sea forms a Semicircle, with a little Fort at 
each End. Directly before that Front, a Quarter of a 
League out at Sea, there stands, on a Spot of Ground, in- 
accessible, by Reason oi the Breaking of the Sea, a strong 
Citadel, well built and furnished with all Necessaries, a 
good Garrison and double Batteries of two hundred Pieces 
of brass Cannon. Ships cannot anchor any where, but be- 
tween that Citadel and the Town; besides that, it requires 
several Precautions, because it is difficult coming to an 
Anchor. 

Most of the Inhabitants are Mulattoes, that is of a tawny 
dark Colour, who live most upon Chocolate and Sweet- 
meats, extraordinary sober, and eating little Flesh. The 
Men are haughty, the Women keep retired above Stairs, 
not tO' be seen by Strangers, and seldom going abroad, and 
then in Coaches or Chairs, and those who cannot reach to 
it, cover'd with fine silk Veils, which reach from the Crown 
O'f their Heads to their Feet, leaving only a small Opening 
on the Right Side,^ for them to see their Way. In their 
own Apartments they wear nothing but a Smock and a silk 
Petticoat, with gold or silver Laces, without any Thing on 
their Heads, and their Hair platted with Ribbons, a gold 

1 Fr. " overture au droit de I'oeil " — opening opposite the eye. 



2o8 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Chain about their Neck, Bracelets of the same and Pendants 
of Emeralds in their Ears. They could well enough like 
the Behaviour and Company of the French, but that the 
jealous Temper of the Men obstructs them. There being a 
Picture of Philip King of Spain, now reigning, aboard the 
Ship in which my Friend was, who gave me this Account, 
the People swarm'd aboard to see it, they were never satis- 
fy'd with gazing at it, and there was a most magnificent 
Festival kept in the Town, on Account of the Birth of the 
Prince of Asturias. 

They understand Trade very well, but are sloathful and 
averse to Labour, fond of State and Ease. They wear 
great Strings of Beads about their Necks, their Houses are 
full of Pictures and Images of Devotion, and they have 
little that is real. They are decently furnish'd with Pur- 
celine and China Goods. The Churches are magnificently 
adorned with Plate. But the Lives and Manners of the 
Clergy are not Edifying. On Holidays and Sundays there 
is no Thought of Matins, of Sermon, or of Vespers : People 
chat and laugh in the Churches as well as in the Processions, 
which are often at Night by the Light of Torches. 

All Strangers are forbid Trading there, yet some come 
by Stealth and deal Underhand, by Means of Presents 
made to such Persons as can favour them. If those Mulat- 
toes call themselves white, it is only to honour themselves 
and by Way of Distinction from their Slaves, who are all 
Blacks, and having got much Mony by their Labour, ran- 
some themselves and sometimes become considerable Mer- 
chants. 
Mexico The City of Mexico, Capital of the Country and the Resi- 

^^^- dence of the Vice-roy, is about eighty Leagues distant from 

Veracruz, to the Westward, the Way to it very bad and ill 
furnish'd with Provisions. That Country would be better 
in some Parts, if the people had the skill and energy to till 
it. They sow but little of our Wheat, and are satisfied 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 209 

with Indian Corn^ and Cassobi Root, whereof they make 
Cakes, as is practis'd in the Islands. Their Trees and 
Fruits are the same as in other hot Countries. About the 
Town of Veracruz, there are Bushes of a Sort of Thorn, 
without Leaves, among which grows an extraordinary 
Plant ; for tho' it has but a small Stem, it shoots out Leaves 
of a Cabbage Green, as thick as a Man's Finger, which 
grow out, one at the End O'f another, in the Shape of a 
Racket, and the Plant itself is so call'd. From those Leaves 
there grows out a Sort of red Figs, very juicy, with Seeds 
like those of the Pomgranate; the Juice is of a Violet 
Colour, but unsavoury. There is a Sort of Flies that cleave 
to it and are so fond of the Taste of the Fruit, that they 
burst and drop down dead. The}^ are carefully gather'd 
and dry'd, and are the Scarlet Dye, call'd Cochinilla, which 
is brought into Europe, and makes that beautiful Colour. 
The Birds and Beasts are much the same as in other Coun- 
tries of America. There is a Sort of Bird, all red, which 
for that Reason is call'd the Cardinal ; this they often tame 
and teach to sing like a Canary Bird. This is what I have 
been told concerning" the Town of Veracruz. 

As for the Havana, a Town and Port no less famous, in Havana, 
the Island of Cuba, belonging* as well as the other to the 
Crown of Spain, it stands towards the Western End, and 
on the North Side of that Island, almost under the Tropick 
of Cancer, and about four or five hundred Leagues on this 
Side of Veracruz. It is large and beautiful ; the Port 
good, secur'd by two Focts on the two Sides, and good 
artillery, from twenty four to thirty six Pounds, the En- 
trance so narrow, that only one Vessel can go in at once. 
The Town is encompass'd by a good Wall, fortify'd with 
five Bastions, furnish'd with Cannon, The Streets are all 
as strait as a Line, and level, the Houses very handsome, 
but ill furnish'd. In the Midst of it is a fine Square, the 

1 Fr. " du gros mil " — coarse millet. 
14 



2IO Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Buildings about all uniform. The Churches are magnifi- 
cent, and enrich' d with Gold and Silver, Lamps, Candle- 
sticks, and Ornaments for the Altars, There are some 
Lamps curiously wrought, which weigh two hundred 
Marks of Silver, [each Mark being half a Pound.] ^ The 
Revenue of the Bishoprick amounts to more than fifty thou- 
sand Crowns, and he who enjoy'd it in the Year 1703, as I 
was inform' d by my Friend, who gave me this Account of 
what he had seen, was the greatest Ornament of that City, 
for his Virtues and Charity, being satisfy'd with Neces- 
saries, and spending all the rest upon the Poor, and in re- 
pairing decay'd Churches. Tho' Strangers are prohibited 
to trade there, yet it is easier carried on than at Veracruz. 
The Inhabitants are more familiar; the Women have more 
Liberty, yet they do not goi Abroad without their Veils to 
wrap and hide them. Many of them speak French, and 
dress after the French Fashion, and some of our Nation 
have settled themselves there. When my Friend was there, 
a magnificent Festival was celebrated for fifteen Days suc- 
cessively, in Honour of K. Philip the Fifth, and Monsieur 
du Casse being then there, with his Squadron, the City 
desir'd him to join with them. To' that Purpose, he set 
ashore five hundred Men, who' perform'd the Martial Ex- 
ercise in the great Square, which was much admir'd. 
The Harc/mm is the Place, where the Galeons meet. By 
this word should not be understood ships of extraordinary 
size; for most of them are but very inconsiderable craft 
which Spanish vanity strives to magnify by a swelling 
name. But if these ships are not great, their precious 
freight is so. For all that, this city, the gateway tO' the 
treasures of the West Indies, is full of beggars — but it is 
by their own fault, and by their idleness that they are such. 
Provisions are dear there, especially Bread; but the Wine 
is not, tho' it is good. Fish and Flesh there, are unsavory. 
The Inhabitants are Spaniards. 

1 Bracketed words not in the French original. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 211 

We have thought fit to describe those two famous Ports 
of the Bay of Mexico, as well because it has not been so 
exactly done before, as in Regard that the Settlement which 
is going to be made in Louisiana, may have some Depend- 
ance on them ; for the Havana lying" in the Way, those who 
perform the Voyage may have the Conveniency of taking 
in Refreshments there, of putting in for Shelter in foul 
Weather, and of careening or refitting. As for the Vera- 
cruz, tho'' farther out of the Way, the Correspondence there 
may be advantagious for the Securing of the Colony of 
Louisiana. 

But how can that fail of succeeding, ;inder the Conduct 
of Monsieur Crosat, who has the Charge of that Enter- 
prize, and whom Providence seems tO' have in a Manner 
ingag'd to advance in Wealth and Honour, to the Amaze- 
ment of the World, and yet free from Envy, from Jealousy, 
and from any Sort of Complaints. There is therefore no 
Reason to presage otherwise than well of the Event of 
this Affair; the Blessings God has pour'd down upon all 
his former Undertakings, seem to- be a Security for what 
is to follow. There is Reason to' hope for still greater 
Blessings on this Project of a Settlement in Louisiana, as 
being equally advantagious to Religion and the State; for 
the propagating of the Knowledge and Service of God 
among an infinite Number of Savages, by Means of the 
Missioners, who are toi be sent to and maintain' d in those 
vast Countries; the Planting of the Faith in that New 
World, only the Name whereof is known tO' us, and the 
Reducing of it to be a Christian and a French Province, 
under the Dominion of our August Monarch, and to the 
eternal Memory of his Reign, will be the Consequences and 
the Fruits of Monsieur Crozafs Care and Expence, the 
Glory of his Enterprize, the Security of the large Fortune 
he has made in this Life, and what is rare among such ricli 
Men, the Earnest of much better in the Next. Heaven 
grant our Hopes and Wishes may be answer'd. 

/ am, &c. 



212 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

The Letters Patent granted by the King of France to M. 

Crozat. 

LOUIS, by the Grace of God, King of France and 
Navarre: To all who shall see these present Letters, 
Greeting, The Care we have always had to procure the 
Welfare and Advantage of our Subjects having induced 
us, notwithstanding the almost continual Wars which we 
have been obliged to support from the Beginning of our 
Reign, to seek for all possible Opportunities of enlarging 
and extending the Trade of our American Colonies, We 
did in the Year 1683 S^"^^ ^^*^ orders to undertake a Dis- 
covery of the Countries and Lands which are situated in 
the Northern Part of America, between New France and 
New Mexico : And the Sieur de la Sale, to whom we com- 
mitted that Enterprise, having had Success enough to con- 
firm a Belief that a Communication might be settled from 
New France to the Gulph of Mexico by Means of large 
Rivers; This obliged its immediately after the Peace of 
Ryswick to give Orders for the establishing a Colony there, 
and maintaining a Garrison which has kept and preserved 
the Possession, we had taken in the very Year 1683 of the 
Lands, Coasts and Islands which are situated in the Gulph 
of Mexico, betzveen Carolina on the East, and Old and New 
Mexico on the West. But a new War having broke out 
in Europe shortly after, there was no Possibility, till now, 
of reaping from that new Colony the Advantages that might 
have been expected from thence, because the private Men, 
who are concerned in the Sea Trade, were all under Engage- 
ments with other Colonies, which they have been obliged 
to follow : And whereas upon the Information we have 
received concerning the Disposition and Situation of the 
said Countries known at present by the Name of the 
Province of Louisiana, we are of Opinion that there may 
be established therein a considerable Commerce, so much 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 213 

the more advantageous to our Kingxlom in that there has 
hitherto been a Necessity of fetching from Foreigners the 
greatest Part of the Commodies which may be brought from 
thence, and because in Exchange thereof we need carry 
thither nothing but Commodities of the Growth and Manu- 
facture of our own Kingdom; we have resolved to grant 
the Commerce of the Country of Louisiana to the Sieur 
Anthony Crozat our Councellor, Secretary of the House- 
hold, Crown and Revenue, to whom we entrust the Execu- 
tion of this Project. We are the more readily inclined 
hereunto, because his Zeal and the singular Knowledge he 
has acquired in maritime Commerce, encourage us to hope 
for as good Success as he has hitherto had in the divers 
and sundry Enterprizes he has gone upon, and which have 
procured to our Kingdom great Quantities of Gold and 
Silver in such Conjunctures as have rendered them very 
welcome to us. 

FOR THESE REASONS being desirous to shew our 
Favour to him, and to regulate the Conditions upon which 
we mean to grant him the said Commerce, after having 
deliberated this Affair in our Council, Of our certain Knowl- 
edge, full Power and Royal Authority, We by these 
Presents, signed by our Hand, have appointed and do ap- 
point the said Sieur Crozat solely to carry on a Trade in all 
the Lands possessed by Us, and bounded by New Mexico, 
and by the Lands of the English of Carolina, all the Estab- 
lishment, Ports, Havens, Rivers, and principally the Port, 
and Haven of the Isle Dauphine, heretofore called 
Massacre; the River of St. Lewis, heretofore called Mis- 
sisipi, from the Edge of the Sea as far as the Illinois ; to- 
gether mith the River of St. Philip, heretofore called the 
Missourys, and of St. Jerome, heretofore called Ovabache, 
with all the Countries, Territories, Lakes within Land, and 
the Rivers zvhich fall directly or indirectly into that Part of 
the River of St. Lewis. 



214 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

The ARTICLES. 

I. Our Pleasure is, that all the aforesaid Lands, Coun- 
tries Streams, Rivers and Islands be and remain comprised 
under the Name of The Government of Louisiana, which 
shall he dependant upon the General Government of New 
France, to which it is subordinate; and further, that all the 
Lands which we possess from the Islinois be imited, so far 
as Occasion requires, to the General Government of New 
France, and become Part thereof, reserving however to 
Ourselves the Liberty of enlarging as We shall think fit the 
Extent of the Government of the said Country of Louisiana. 

II. We grant to the said Sieur Crosat for Fifteen suc- 
cessive Years, to be reckon' d from the Day of Inrolling 
these presents, a Right and Power to transport all Sorts of 
Goods and Merchandize from France intO' the said Country 
of Louisiana, and to trafhck thither as he shall think fit. 
We forbid all and every Person and Persons, Company and 
Companies of what Quality or Condition soever, and under 
any Pretence whatever, to trade thither, under Penalty of 
Confiscation of Goods, Ships, and other more severe Punish- 
ments, as Occasion shall require ; for this Purpose we order 
our Governours and other Officers commanding our Troops 
in the said Country forcibly to abet, aid and assist the Di- 
rectors and Agents of the said Sieur Crozat. 

III. We permit him to search for, open and dig all Sorts 
of Mines, Veins and Minerals throughout the whole Extent 
of the said Country of Louisiana, and to transport the 
Profits thereof into any Port of France during the said 
Fifteen Years; and we grant in Perpetuity to him, his 
Heirs, and others claiming under him or them, the Prop- 
erty of, in and to the Mines, Veins and Minerals which he 
shall bring to bear, paying us, in Lieu of all Claim, the Fifth 
Part of the Gold and Silver which the said Sieur Crozat 
shall cause to be transported to France at his own Charges 
into what Port he pleases, (of which Fifth we will run the 
Risque of the Sea and of War,) and the Tenth Part of 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 215 

what Effects he shall draw from the other Mines, Veins 
and Minerals, which Tenth he shall transfer and convey 
to our Magazines in the said Country of Louisiana. 

We likewise permit him to search for precious Stones and 
Pearls, paying us the Fifth Part in the same Manner as is 
mention'd for the Gold and Silver. 

We will that the said Sieiir Crosat, his Heirs, or those 
claiming under him or them the perpetual Right, shall for- 
feit the Propriety of the said Mines, Veins and Minerals, 
if they discontinue the Work during three Years, and that 
in such Case the said Mines, Veins and Minerals shall be 
fully reunited to our Domaine, by Virtue of this present 
Article, without the Formality of any Process of Law, but 
only an Ordinance of Re-union from the Subdelegate of 
the Intendant of New France, who shall be in the said Coun- 
try, nor do we mean that the said Penalty of Forfeiture 
in Default of working for three Years, be reputed a Com- 
minatory Penalty. 

IV. The said Sieur Crosat may vend all such Merchan- 
dize, Goods, Wares, Commodities, Arms, and Ammunition 
as he shall have caused to be transported into the said 
Country and Government of Louisiana, as well to the 
French, as Savages who- are or shall be there setled; nor 
shall any Person or Persons under any Pretence whatso- 
ever be capable of doing the like without his Leave ex- 
pressed in Writing. 

V. He may purchase in the said Country, all Sorts of 
Furs, Skins, Leather, Wool, and other Commodities and 
Effects of the said Country, and transport them to France 
during the said Fifteen Years : And as our Intention is to 
favour, as much as we can, our Inhabitants of Nezu France, 
and to hinder the Lessening of their Trade, we forbid him 
Trafficking for Castor in the said Country under any Pre- 
tence whatsoever; nor to Convey any from thence into our- 
Kingdom or Foreign Countries. 

VI. We Grant to the Sieur Crozat, his Heirs or those 
claiming under him or them, the Property of, in and to all 



2i6 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

Settlements and Manufactories which he shall erect or set 
up in the said Country for Silk, Indigo, Wooll, Leather, 
Mines, Veins and Minerals, as likewise the Property of, in 
and to the Lands which he shall cause to be Cultivated, 
with the Mansions, Mills, and Structures which he shall 
cause to be built thereon, taking Grants thereof from Us, 
which Grants he shall obtain upon the Verbal Process and 
Opinion of our Governor and of the Subdelegate of the 
Intendant of New France in the said Country, to be by him 
Reported unto Us. 

We will that the said Sieur Crosat, his Heirs, or those 
claiming under him or them, shall keep in Repair the said 
Settlements, Manufactures, Lands and Mills; and in De- 
fault thereof during the Space of three Years, he and they 
shall Forfeit the same, and the said Settlements, Manu- 
factories, Lands and Mills shall be Reunited to our Domaine 
fully and amply, and in the same Manner as is mentioned 
above in the Third Article concerning the Mines, Veins and 
Minerals. 

VIL Our Edicts, Ordinances and Customs, and the 
Usages of the Mayoralty and Shreevalty of Paris, shall be 
observed for Laws and Customs in the said Country of 
Louisiana. 

VIIL The said Sieur Crozat shall be oblig'd to send to 
the said Country of Louisiana Two Ships every Year, which 
he shall cause to set out in the proper Season, in each of 
which Ships he shall cause to be imbark'd, without paying 
any Freight, 25 Tun of Victuals, Effects and necessary 
Ammunition, for the Maintenance of the Garrison and 
Forts of the Louisiana-, and in Case we should cause to be 
laden above the said 25 Tun in each Ship, we consent to 
pay the Freight to the said Sieur Cronat, at the common 
Merchantile Rates. 

He shall be oblig'd to convey our Officers of Louisiana 
in the Ships which he shall send thither, and to furnish 
them with Subsistance and a Captain's Table for 30 Sols 
per Day, which we will cause to be paid for each. 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 217 

He shall likewise give Passage in the said Ships, to the 
Soldiers, which we shall please to send to the said Country ; 
and we will cause the necessary Provisions for their Sub- 
sistance to be furnish'd to him, or will pay him for them at 
the same Price as is paid to the Purveyor-General of our 
Marine. 

He shall be furthermore oblig'd to send on Board each 
Ship, which he shall cause to set out for the said Country, 
Ten young Men or Women, at his own Election. 

IX. We will cause to be deliver'd out of our Magazines 
to the said Sieur Crozat, loooo Weight of Gunpowder every 
Year, which he shall pay us for at the Price that it shall 
cost us, and this for so long Time as the present Privilege 
shall last. 

X. The Wares and Merchandize which the said Sieur 
Crozat shall consign to the said Country of Louisiana shall 
be exempt from all Duties of Exportation, laid or to be laid, 
on Condition, that his Directors, Deputies or Clerks, shall 
engage to give within the Space of a Year, to be reckon'd 
from the Date thereof, a Certificate of their Unlading in the 
said Country of Louisiana; under Penalty, in Case of Con- 
travention, to pay the Quadruple of the Duties, reserving 
to our selves the Power of giving him a longer Respite in 
such Cases and Occurrences as we shall think proper. 

XI. And as for the Goods and Merchandize, which the 
Sieur Crozat shall cause to be brought from the said Coun- 
try of Louisiana, and upon his Account, into the Ports of 
our Kingdom, and shall afterwards cause to be transported 
into Foreign Countries, they shall pay no Duties either of 
Importation or Exportation, and shall be deposited in the 
Custom-House, Warehouses of Ports where they shall ar- 
rive, until they be taken away; and when the Deputies and 
Clerks of the said Sieur Crozat shall be minded to cause 
them to be transported in Foreign Countries, either by Sea 
or Land, they shall be oblig'd to give Security to bring 
within a certain Time, a Certificate from the last Office, 



2i8 Monsieur de la Sale's Second Voyage 

containing what they Exported there, and another Certifi- 
cate of their unlading in Foreign Countries. 

XII. In Case the said Sieur Crosat be obliged, for the 
furtherance of his Commerce to fetch from Foreign Coun- 
tries some Goods and Merchandize of Foreign Manufacture, 
in order to TRANSPORT them into the said Country 
of Louisiana. He shall make Us Acquainted therewith, and 
lay before Us States thereof ; upon which we, if we think fit, 
will Grant him our Particular Permission with Exemptions 
from all Duties of Importation and Exportation, Provided 
the said Goods and Merchandize be Deposited afterwards 
in our Custom-House Ware-houses until they be Laden in 
the Ships of the said Sieur Crosat, who shall be obliged 
to bring in one Year, to^ be reckoned from the Day of the 
Date hereof, a Certificate of their unlading in the said 
Country of Louisiana, under Penalty, in Case of Contra- 
vention, to pay quadruple the Duties : Reserving to our 
selves, in like Manner, the Liberty of granting to the said 
Sieur Crosat, a longer Respite, if it be necessary. 

XIII. The Feluccaes, Canoes, and other Vessels belong- 
ing tO' us, and which are in the said Country of Louisiana, 
shall serve for loading, unloading and transporting the Ef- 
fects of the said Sieur Crozat, who shall be bound to keep 
them in good Condition, and after the Expiration of the 
said Fifteen Years shall restore them, or a like Number of 
equal Bulk and Goodness, to our Governor in the said 
Country. 

XIV. If for the Cultures and Plantations which the 
said Sieur Crozat is minded tO' make he finds it proper to 
have Blacks in the said Country of the Louisiana, he may 
send a Ship every Year to trade for them directly upon the 
Coast of Guinea, taking Permission from the Guinea Com- 
pany so to do, he may sell those Blacks, to the Inhabitants 
of the Colony of Louisiana', and we forbid all other Com- 
panies and Persons whatsoever, under any Pretence what- 
soever, to introduce Blacks or Traffick for them in the said 



Into NORTH AMERICA. 219 

Country, nor shall the said Sieur Crozat carry any Blacks 
else where. 

XV. He shall not send any Ships into the said Country 
of Louisiana but directly from France, and he shall Cause 
the said Ships to Return thither again; the whole under 
Pain of Confiscation and Forfeiture of the Present 
Priviledge, 

XVI. THE said Sieur Crosat shall be obliged, after the 
Expiration of the first nine Years of this Grant, to Pay the 
Officers and the Garrison which shall be in the said Country 
During the Six last Years of the Continuance of this 
Present Priviledge: The said Sieur Crosat may in that 
Time propose and nominate the Officers, as Vacancies shall 
fall, and such Officers, shall be Confirmed by us, if we ap- 
prove of them. 

Given at FONTAINBLEAU the Fourteenth Day of Sep- 
tember in the Year of Grace 1712. And of Our Reign the 
70th. 

SIGNED LO U IS 
By the K I N G 

PHELIPEAUX, &c. 

Registered at PARIS in the Parliament, the Four and Twentieth 
of September, 1712. 



Discovery of the Mississippi. 



BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT OF THE TRAVELS OF NICOLET, ALLOUEZ, MAE- 
QUETTEj HENNEPIN, AND LA SALLE IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 

The pioneer of French travellers to the country west of the great 
lakes, and the first white man who is reputed to have reached a northern 
tributary of the Mississippi, was Jean Nicolet, who in 1634, or there- 
abouts, made treaties with the Indians at Green Bay, and ascended 
Fox River. 

The " Relation de ce qui s'est passe en la Novvelle France, 1640," 
Paris, 1641, gives the earliest indication of this voyage, and a summary 
description is given in the Relation of 1642-43. These reports are 
reprinted in the " Relation des Jesuites," vol. i., Quebec, 1858. Margry's 
" Decouvertes et etablissements des Frangais," vol. i., pp. 47-53, con- 
tains the portions of the above which refer to Nicolet, and a translation 
of the account in the Relation of 1640 is printed in Smith's " History 
of Wisconsin," vol. iii. Du Creux's " Historia Canadensis," Paris, 1664, 
gives the first connected history of the life and exploits of this explorer. 
A translation of Du Creux's narrative is appended to Butterfield's 
" History and Discovery of the Northwest, by John Nicolet," Cincinnati, 
1881. 

Shea states, in his " Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi," 
that Nicolet descended the Wisconsin to the Mississippi. This opinion 
was adopted by Parkman in his " Jesuits in North America," p. 166, but 
his later judgment is given in the "Discovery of the Great West." A 
more careful examination of the evidence demonstrates the improbability 
that his travels extended farther than the Wisconsin, and in the opinion 
of Butterfield, the latest writer upon this voyage, he did not reach that 
river, but stopped at the country of the Mascoutins upon Fox River. 

Benjamin Suite, a Canadian historical writer, in writing upon Nicolet, 
in his " Melanges d'PIistoire et de Litterature," Ottawa, 1876, shows, 
for the first time, that this journey was probably made in 1634, instead 
of 1638 or 1639, as before thought. 

Suite's article with notes by L. C. Draper, is printed in the " Wiscon- 
sin Historical Society Collections," vol. viii., pp. 188-194; also in the 
"Canadian Antiquarian," vol. viii., pp. 157-164. 

Butterfield, who has carefully investigated the records, agrees with 
Suite in assigning 1634 as the true date, and brings out additional, if 
not conclusive evidence to support this theory, in his monograph cited 

[221] 



222 Discovery of the Mississippi. 

above. Margry, in the " Journal de I'lnstruction publique," 1862, under 
the caption, " Les Normands dans les Vallees de I'Ohio et du Missis- 
sipi," describes Nicolet's travels and Gravier's " Decouvertes et etablis- 
sements de la Salle;" Harrisse's "Notes pour servir a I'Histoire [etc.] 
de la Nouvelle France," and Parkman's "La Salle," also give some 
account of the expedition. 

In 1642 Jogues and Raymbault, two missionaries, penetrated as far 
west as Sault Ste. Marie, at the outlet of Lake Superior. See account 
of this mission in the Jesuit Relation of 1642. Margry's Collection, 
vol. i., pp. 45-47, contains a reprint of the narrative of this journey. 
See also Shea's Charlevoix, vol. i., p. 137, for notice of the undertaking. 

The next recorded visit to the West is that of two French traders, 
who wintered upon the shores of Lake Superior in 1658. See the Jesuit 
Relation of 1659-60, and the extract in Margry's Collection, vol. i., pp. 
5v1~5S, and translation in Smith's Wisconsin, vol. iii., p. 20. Father 
Menard began a mission at St. Theresa Bay, Lake Superior, in 1661. 
See Lalleraant's letter in the Relation of 1662-63. A translation of this 
letter is in Smith's Wisconsin, vol. iii. See also Perrot's " Memoire sur 
les moeurs des sauvages," Paris, 1864; Shea's Charlevoix, vol. i., p. 49, 
and a note by Shea in Historical Alagasine, vol. viii., p. 175. Menard's 
letter, written just before his departure for Lake Superior, with notes 
by E. D. Neill, may be found in the " Minnesota Historical Society Col- 
lections," vol. i., pp. 135-138. 

In 1665, Claude Alloiiez, another missionary, began a mission at 
Chegoimegon, Lake Superior. See the journal of his travels in Le 
Mercier's Relation of 1666-67, a translation of which is in Smith's Wis- 
consin, vol. iii. Marquette took charge of this mission in 1669, and 
Alloiiez went to the Baie des Puantes (Green Bay), and in 1670 made 
a visit to the Mascoutins on Fox River. Harrisse thinks he crossed to 
the Wisconsin at this time. In reporting his operations, Alloiiez de- 
scribes the " Messi-sipi " from information given by the Indians. See 
Dablon's Relation of 1669-70, p. 100. Translation in Smith's " Wis- 
consin," vol. iii. 

Alloiiez spent many years among the Indians upon Green Bay, and 
in the Illinois country. See the Jesuit Relations covering the years 
1669-79. The full titles of these Relations are given in chronological 
order in Harrisse's " Notes pour servir a I'Histoire [etc.] de la Nouvelle 
France." Dr. Shea printed in the Cramoisy series the abridged Rela- 
tions for 1672-79, and Martin's " Mission du Canada " prints them for 
the first time in full. Shea gives a life of Alloiiez in his "Discovery and 
Exploration of the Mississippi." See also notes upon him in Margry's 
Decouvertes, etc., vol. i., pp. 57-72; also in Bancroft, in Shea's Charle- 
voix, vol. iii., and in Shea's " Catholic Missions in the United States." 
Gravier and Parkman also give some account of his travels. 



Discovery of the Mississippi. 223 

In June, 1671, St. Lusson, in the presence of a large number of In- 
dians, took possession of the country on the lakes in the name of 
France. The " Proces verbal " of the ceremony is in Margry, vol. i., 
pp. 96 et scq. 

Perrot, a noted Canadian voyagetir, in 1670-71 travelled along the 
shores of Green Bay. Per rot's journal, which records the daily events 
of his life among the Indians from 1665 to 1726, was edited for the 
first time at Paris, in 1864, by Father Tailhan. It is entitled " Memoires 
sur les moeurs et coustumes et relligion [sic] des sauvages de I'Amer- 
ique septentrionale." Tailhan's notes add value to the work. See 
regarding Perrot, Shea's Charlevoix, vol. iii., p. 165, and Historical 
Magazine, vol. ix., p. 205. 

A description of the geography of the country as known previous to 
the exploration of the Mississippi by Joliet and Marquette is given by 
Dablon in the " Relation de la Nouvelle France, les annees 1670 et 1671," 
Paris, 1672. See the Quebec reprint in " Relation des Jesuites," vol. iii. 
The Relation, as printed in 1672, gave a map of the great lakes; for a 
description of which see Parkman's " La Salle," p. 450. 

In 1673 Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet navigated the Mississippi 
in canoes to the Arkansas. Father Marquette's narrative of the voyage, 
in an imperfect form, was published by Thevenot in his " Recueil de 
Voyages," Paris, 1681. Thevenot also published it as an independent 
work, with the title, " Voyage et decouverte de quelques pays et nations 
de I'Amerique septentrionale." In this latter shape it was reproduced 
by Rich, at Paris, in 1845. The map accompanying this version, and 
which is inserted in fac-simile in Bancroft, is said not to be by Mar- 
quette. The authentic map was first published in Shea's " Discovery and 
Exploration of the Mississippi," where the two maps are compared. The 
Thevenot text appears translated in French's " Historical Collections 
of Louisiana," pt. 2, pp. 279-297, and Spark's " Life of Marquette," in the 
*■' Library of American Biography," vol. x., is, in a measure, a transla- 
tion of it. 

Marquette's complete journal, prepared for publication, in 1678, by 
Claude Dablon, Superior of the Canadian Missions, remained inedited 
until Shea published it in his " Discovery and Exploration of the Mis- 
sissippi," New York, 1853, giving the original text and a translation! 
This version, known as the Ste. Marie text, was reprinted in 1855, 
with important annotations, by Shea, under the title, " Recit des voy- 
ages et des decouvertes du R. P. J. Marquette, en I'annee 1673, et aux 
suivantes; la continuation de ses voyages par C. Alloiiez, et le journal 
autographe, du P. Marquette en 1674 et 1675." [Albanie: Imprimerie 
de Weed, Parsons et Cie.] 1855 (10), 169 (2), pp. Map, i2mo. Martin's 
"Mission du Canada, Relations inedites (1672-1679)," vol. ii., contains a 
modified version of the Ste. Marie text. Hennepin's spurious " New 



224 Discovery of the Mississippi. 

Discovery," London, 1698 and 1699, has, as an appendix, a poor trans- 
lation of the Thevenot production. 

Joliet, while on his way to Montreal to report his discoveries, lost his 
memoranda and maps. He was enabled, however, to draw up a brief 
recital from memory, which, with a map, he presented to Frontenac 
in 1674. 

Two versions of this narrative are printed in Margry's Collection, 
vol. i., pp. 259-270. Dablon despatched to his Superior at Paris an 
account derived from Joliet's verbal testimony, which may be found 
printed in Martin's " Mission du Canada," vol. i., pp. 193-204. A trans- 
lation is given in the Historical Magazine, vol. v., pp. 237-239. A letter 
sent by Joliet from Quebec, October 10, 1674, briefly recounts his late 
adventures. It may be found in Harrisse's " Notes pour servir a 
I'Histoire [etc.] de la Nouvelle France," pp. 322 and 323. A narrative 
based upon Joliet's report is appended to Hennepin's " New Discovery," 
London, 1698. 

Joliet made several maps, showing his discoveries, only one of which 
has been edited. Gravier's " Etude sur une carte inconnue, la premiere 
dressee par L. Joliet en 1674," contains a fac-simile of the map in ques- 
tion. A letter from the discoverer to Frontenac is inscribed upon it. 
Gravier considers this map, apparently with good reason, to be the 
earliest representation of the course of the Mississippi from personal 
knowledge. 

Frontenac's letter announcing the successful result of Joliet's mission 
is printed in Margry, vol. i., p. 257, and a translation is inserted in the 
"New York Colonial Documents," vol. ix., p. 116. See the following 
for notices of Joliet : Faillon's " Histoire de la Colonic frangaise en 
Canada," vol. iii. ; Ferland's "Notes sur les registres de Notre-Dame;" 
Margry's articles in the Revue Canadienne, December, 187 1, January, 
March, 1872. French's Historical Collections, second series, has a brief 
biography. The works hereafter cited upon the history of the discovery 
of the Mississippi necessarily include a history of the Marquette- Joliet 
expedition. 

We now come to La Salle, Hennepin, and Tonty, 1669-87. Margry's 
" Decouvertes et etablissements des Frangais dans I'Ouest et dans le 
sud de I'Amerique septentrionale, 1614-1698," Paris, 1879-81, contains 
the documents which the editor collected in the archives of France. 
This work now comprises four large octavo volumes, three of which are 
mainly devoted to documents upon La Salle's explorations. The con- 
tents of these three volumes are arranged under the following heads: 
ire partie, "Voyages des Frangais sur les grands lacs et Decouverte de 
rOhio et du Mississipi (1614-1684) ;" 2me partie, "Lettres de La Salle;" 
3me partie, "Recherche des bouches du Mississipi (1669-1698)." The 
more important of these papers are indicated hereafter in their chrono- 



Discovery of the Mississippi. 225 

logical order. The fourth volume of this collection embraces the docu- 
ments relating to D'lberville's colony, at the mouth of the Mississippi, 
1698-1703. 

In 1669 La Salle, accompanied by Dollier and Gallinee, set out from 
Montreal to discover the Mississippi. They proceeded in company to 
the v^restern extremity of Lake Ontario. At this place La Salle, pro- 
fessing illness, parted from the missionaries, ostensibly to return to 
Montreal. Dollier and Gallinee continued their journey along the 
iiorthern shores of Lake Erie, thus taking a course hitherto untravelled, 
and reached Sault Ste. Marie in May, 1670, having spent the winter on 
the shores of Lake Erie. Gallinee's journal, entitled " Recit de ce qui 
s'est passe de plus remarquable dans le voyage de MM. Dollier et 
Gallinee," is printed in Margry, vol. i., pp. 1 12-166. The Abbe Faillon, 
w^ho first discovered the records of this journey, gives a synopsis of 
Gallinee's recital, with a fac-simile of his map, in the third volume of 
his " Histoire de la Colonie frangaise en Canada." 

O. M. Marshall's pamphlet, entitled " The First Visit of La Salle to 
the Senecas," Buffalo, 1874, contains a textual translation of this docu- 
ment. The Societe historique, of Montreal, published in 1875 an edition 
of this journal, with notes by the Abbe Verreau. Margry prints in his 
collection, vol. i., pp. 342-402, a narrative which he calls " Recital d'un 
ami de I'Abbe de Gallinee." This purports to be notes, taken by the 
writer, who Margry thinks was the Abbe Renaudot, of conversations 
had with La Salle at Paris in 1678, in which he recounted his adven- 
tures in Canada from 1667 to 1678. In it is stated that after leaving 
Dollier and Gallinee, instead of going to Montreal, La Salle kept on 
until he reached the Ohio, and later went to the Mississippi by way of 
the Illinois. Parkman prints extracts from this paper in his " Dis- 
covery of the Great West," but does not credit it wholly; he, however, 
admits that La Salle discovered the Ohio, and most likely the Illinois. 
It is upon this document, that Margry bases his claim that La Salle was 
the first to reach the Mississippi. 

The following writers take issue with Margry : Briicker, " J. Mar- 
quette et la Decouverte du Mississipi," Lyon, 1880, and in the " Etudes 
religieuses," vol. v. ; Harrisse, in " Notes pour servir a I'Histoire [etc.] 
de la Nouvelle France," Paris, 1872 ; in an article entitled " Histoire 
critique de la Decouverte du Mississipi," in the Revue maritime et 
coloniale, vol. xxxii, pp. 642-663. 

Shea, in whom Margry finds perhaps his most strenuous opponent, 
discusses the question in an address read on the bi-centennial of Mar- 
quette's voyage, published in the " Wisconsin Historical Society Col- 
lections," vol. vii., pp. 111-122. He has, however, published a pamphlet, 
in which he examines the matter more in detail, entitled " The Bursting 
of P. Margry's La Salle Bubble," New York, 1879. Tailhan, in notes 

15 



226 Discovery of the Mississippi. 

to Perrot, and the Abbe Verreau in his edition of Gallinee's journal, 
also refute Margry. Colonel Whittlesey's tract, forming No. 38 of the 
Western Reserve Historical Society's publications, entitled " Discovery 
of the Ohio by La Salle, 1669-70," is an inquiry upon the subject. Mar- 
gry presents his arguments in full, in articles upon " Les Normands 
dans les vallees de I'Ohio et du Mississippi," published in the Journal 
general de I'Instruction puhlique, Paris, 1862. See also a paper by 
him in the Revue maritime et coloniale, vol. xxxiii., pp. 555-559; his 
pamphlet, " La Priorite de La Salle sur le Mississipi," Paris, 1873 ; a 
letter in the American Antiquary, vol. i., pp. 206-209, Chicago, 1880, and 
in remarks in the preface to his " Decouvertes et etablissements des 
Frangais," vol. i. 

Gravier in his " Decouvertes de La Salle," Paris, 1870, in the 
" Compte rendu of the Congres des Americanistes," 1877, pt. i., pp. 237- 
312, and in The Magazine of American History, vol. viii., p. 305, sup- 
ports the Margry theory. 

In August, 1679, La Salle having completed his arrangements and 
obtained letters patent from the king for another attempt upon the 
Mississippi, set sail in the Griffon, upon Lake Erie, and arrived at 
Michillimackinac about two weeks later. The Illinois was reached 
in January, 1680, but owing to adverse circumstances, La Salle being 
compelled, for want of supplies and other causes, to make twice the 
journey between the Illinois and Canada, the exploration of the 
Mississippi was not accomplished until April, 1682. The adventures of 
La Salle's party upon the great lakes and in the Illinois country, pre- 
vious to the voyage down the Mississippi in 1682, are recounted with 
minute detail in the " Relation des Descouvertes et des Voyages du 
Sieur de La Salle, 1679-81," printed in Margry's Collection, vol. i., pp. 

435-594. 

Margry considers this paper to be the official report drav/n up by the 
Abbe Bernou from La Salle's letters. The account of the journey to 
Fort Crevecoeur in 1679-80, given in this narrative, is nearly identical 
with the description of the same voyage in Hennepin's " Description de 
la Louisiane." For this reason Margry charges Hennepin with plagi- 
ary, which calls out a defence of the latter by Shea, in his edition of 
Hennepin's " Louisiana," where the two narratives are compared. 
Membre's journal in Le Clercq's " Premier fitablissement de la Foy," 
Paris, 1691, which is reproduced in English in Shea's " Discovery and 
Exploration of the Mississippi," and Tonty's Memoirs, which will be 
more fully described farther on, also report this stage of the explora- 
tions. Hennepin's spurious " Nouvelle Decouverte " also contains an 
account, which does not differ materially from that given in the 
" Description de la Louisiane." 

Mathieu Sagean, who claimed to have been with La Salle in 1679-80, 
dictated from memory, in 1701, a report of his adventures in Canada. 



Discovery of the Mississippi. 227 

See Parkman's La Salle, p. 658, concerning Sagean's pretensions. Shea 
published Sagean's narrative in 1863, with the title, " Extrait de la 
Relation des avantures et voyage de M. Sagean." 

In February, 1680, Hennepin, by La Salle's orders, set out from 
Fort Crevecoeur for the upper Mississippi. He ascended that river to 
the Sioux country, and discovered St. Anthony's Falls. Hennepin's 
first work, '' Description de la Louisiane," Paris, 1683, relates the 
events of this expedition, and also gives an account of La Salle's 
journey from Canada to the Illinois in 1679-80. Shea gives in his 
" Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi " the portion of this 
work relating the voyage to the upper Mississippi. Hennepin's works 
are held in disrepute, owing to undoubted plagiarisms and falsifications 
which characterize some of them. Shea, however, shows in the preface 
to his edition of the " Description of Louisiana," New York, 1880, that 
this charge applies only to the " Nouvelle Decouverte " and " Nouveau 
Voyage," and other works made up from these two last, and that they 
were probably published without Hennepin's sanction. Parkman agrees 
with Shea in considering the " Description de la Louisiane " to be an 
authentic work. 

For criticisms upon Hennepin, see Sparks' "La Salle;" Parkman's 
"Discovery of the Great West;" Harrisse's "Notes pour servir a 
I'Histoire [etc.] de la Nouvelle France," p. 145 ; and the preface to 
Margry's Decouvertes, etc. Shea's early judgment upon Hennepin, 
which he has modified as indicated above, is given in his " Discovery 
and Exploration of the Mississippi." E. D. Neill, in a pamphlet 
entitled " The Writings of L. Hennepin," lately published by the 
Minnesota Historical Society, dissents from Shea's exculpation of Hen- 
nepin, and declares that no evidence has been produced to clear him 
from the charge of plagiary. 

The bi-centenary of Hennepin's discovery of St. Anthony's Falls 
was celebrated by the Minnesota Historical Society in 1880, and the 
proceedings on the occasion will be reported in the next vokime of its 
collections. The account of a pretended voyage by Hennepin down the 
Mississippi, taken from the spurious " New Discovery," London, 1698, 
is inserted in "French's Historical Collections," part 1., pp. 195-222; 
also in volume one of the "Archasologia Americana," published by the 
American Antiquarian Society. The latter work also contains an 
account of La Salle's last voyage, taken from the same unreliable 
source. 

Shea's edition of Hennepin's " Louisiana " contains a bibliography of 
the numerous memoirs, issued under Hennepin's name, where also may 
be found a translation of La Salle's letter of August, 1682, reporting the 
voyage on the upper Mississippi. Du L'hut, who, in 1679, visited the 
Sioux near Lake Superior, and later descended the St. Croix to the 
Mississippi and rescued Hennepin from the Sioux, gives an account 



228 Discovery of the Mississippi. 

of his adventures in a " Memoire sur la Decouverte du pays des 
Nadouecioux dans le Canada," which is printed in Harrisse's Notes, 
pp. 177-181, and translated in Shea's Hennepin. 

The " Proces verbal de prise de possession de la Louisiane, a Tem- 
bouchure de la mer ou Golphe du Mexique, 9 avril, 1682," in Margry, 
vol. ii., pp. 186-193, gives the principal incidents of the voyage down 
the Mississippi from the Illinois. This document may also be found in 
Gravier's " La Salle," and in English in Sparks' " Life of La Salle," 
also in French's " Historical Collections," part i., and with the title, 
" Narrative of the Expedition of La Salle to explore the (Mississippi) 
Colbert River, in 1682," in French's Historical Collections, second series, 
pp. 17-27, New York, 1875. 

La Salle's letter, written at the junction of the Missouri and Missis- 
sippi Rivers, printed in Margry, vol. ii., pp. 164-180, a translation of 
which is given in The Magazine of American History, vol. ii., pp. 619- 
622, describes the journey to the Missouri. 

The proces verbal of the act of taking possession at the Arkansas, 
March 13 and 14, 1682, in Margry, vol. ii., p. 181, reports another stage 
of the voyage. Membre's journal of the entire expedition, first printed 
in Le Clercq's " fitablissement de la Foy," Paris, 1691, is reproduced in 
English in Shea's " Discovery of the Mississippi." Shea has lately 
brought out an English translation of Le Clercq under the title, " First 
Establishment of the Faith in New France," New York, 1881, two 
vols. 8vo. He there compares Membre's narrative with Hennepin's 
" Nouvelle Decouverte " and " Nouveau Voyage," and also points out 
the variations between it and the account published by Thomassy in his 
■' Geologic pratique de la Louisiane." 

Thomassy's document is entitled, " Relation de la Decouverte de 
I'embouchure de la Riviere Mississipi." Parkman considers it to be 
the " official report of the discovery made by La Salle, or perhaps for 
him by Membre," and says that the Le Clercq narrative is based upon it. 

To which Shea replies, that it " seems strange to assume that the 
fuller document given by Le Clercq must be drawn from a shorter 
form." 

The two documents are essentially identical, and afford trustworthy 
data upon the voyage. 

According to Boimare, a manuscript copy of Membre's journal exists 
in the library at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 

Henri de Tonty, who was with La Salle from 1678-83, reports the 
explorations during that time, in a memoir written at Quebec in 1684, 
which is published for the first time in Margry, vol. i., pp. 571-616. 
Another narrative by him, entitled " Memoire envoye en 1693 sur la 
Decouverte du Mississipi, par de La Salle en 1678, et depuis sa mort 
par le sieur de Tonty," is printed in its integrity in Margry's " Rela- 
tions et Memoires inedits," pp. 1-36, Paris, 1867. A translation of it 



Discovery of the Mississippi. 229 

is included in French's " Historical Collections," part i., pp. 52-83, 
and also in Falconer's " Mississippi," London, 1844. These two memoirs 
formed the basis of the work published under Tonty's name, but which 
he disavowed, entitled " Dernieres decouvertes dans I'Amerique septen- 
trionale de M. de La Salle," Paris, 1697. 

This work was reproduced under the title of " Relation de la 
Louisianne " in Bernard's " Recueil de voyages au Nord," Amsterdam, 
1720 and 1724. 

An English translation was published at London in 1698, with the 
title, "An Account of La Salle's Last Expedition and Discoveries," and 
is reproduced in part in the New York Historical Society Collections, 
vol. ii., pp. 217-341. 

Parkman says that the " Dernieres decouvertes " is " a compilation 
full of errors." 

Margry prints in vol. i., pp. 547-570, of his Collection, a memoir 
entitled " Recit de la descouverte que M. de La Salle a faite de la 
riviere de Mississipi en 1682." The author of the paper was Nicolas de 
La Salle, who wrote it in 1699, at the request of the French authorities, 
to serve as a guide to D'Iberville in his search for the Mississippi. 
Margry says that the writer bore no relationship to the discoverer. 

La Salle's memorial of 1684, proposing an expedition to the Gulf of 
Mexico, printed in Margry, vol. iii., pp. 17-30, and in French's " Historical 
Collections," part i., pp. 37-44, also in the second series of French's 
publication, and in Falconer's " Mississippi," briefly indicates his dis- 
coveries up to that time. 

The French documents, collected by Brodhead in the archives of the 
Departments of Marine and of War, and printed in the ninth volume of 
the " Documents relative to the Colonial History of New York," Albany, 
1855, include official correspondence which reports the movements of 
the explorers from time to time. 

Shea promises an edition of a journal by Pefialossa, which will show 
the mercenary motives which inspired La Salle. Margry prints some 
documents concerning Penalossa's propositions to lead a party of buc- 
caneers from St. Domingo to unite with La Salle in an attack on the 
Spanish mines in New Mexico. 

LA SALLE's voyage TO THE GULF OF MEXICO AND ATTEMPT TO DISCOVER THE 
MISSISSIPPI — 1684-87 

In 1683 La Salle returned to France and presented, in two memorials 
to the king, propositions for an expedition to colonize the Mississippi, 
and take possession of the Spanish mines in New Mexico. The first 
memorial, which gives a brief account of his previous achievements, is 
in Margry's Collection, vol. iii., pp. 17-30. A translation is in French's 
"Historical Collections," part i., pp. 37-44; also in the second series, 



230 Discovery of the Mississippi. 

pp. 1-15, of the same publication, and in Falconer's " Mississippi." The 
second, which defines his schemes at greater length, is printed in Mar- 
gry, vol. ii., pp. 359-369 ; in English, in French's " Historical Collec- 
tions," part i., pp. 25-34. The accessory official documents relating to 
various features and stages of the expedition are included in the second 
and third volumes of Margry's Collection. We have two narratives by 
members of this expedition, which relate its history from the time of 
departure from France down to and after the death of La Salle. The 
first to appear in print was Douay's, which was published by Le Clercq 
in his " Premier Etablissement de la Foy," Paris, 1691. Shea printed 
a translation of it in the " Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi," 
New York, 1853.^ A comparison of Douay's journal with Joutel's 
narrative is made by Shea in his edition of Le Clercq, published at 
New York in 1881. 

Joutel, who seems to have been next in command to La Salle, kept a 
journal, which is published for the first time in its integrity in Margry's 
Collection, vol. iii., pp. 89-534. An abridged and modified version of 
this narrative was published at Paris in 1713, under the title, " Journal 
historique due dernier Voyage que feu M. de La Salle, fit dans le 
Golfe du Mexique." Joutel complained that changes were made by the 
editor in retouching the work for publication. The text published by 
Margry is much fuller than the printed edition. An English translation 
of the Paris production, under the title, " Journal of the Last Voyage 
performed by M. de La Salle," etc., was published at London in 1714, 
and in 1719 another edition was brought out as " Joutel's Journal of his 
Voyage to Mexico and Canada." An edition in Spanish was published 
at New York in 1831, with the title, " Dario historico del ultimo Viaje 
que M. de la Salle hi jo para descubrir el desembocadero y curso del 
Mississipi." Charlevoix says that Joutel was the most reliable of La 
Salle's followers, and Parkman thinks that he " gives the impression of 
sense, intelligence, and candor throughout," while Douay, in the latter's 
opinion, did not always write honestly. Jean Cavelier, an older brother 
of La Salle's, who, after the latter's assassination, escaped to Canada 
in company with Joutel and Douay, is said to have drawn up a report 
of the expedition for M. de Seignelay, the Minister of Marine. 

Parkman possesses a manuscript which he says is a portion of the 
first draft of this report. Dr. Shea edited Parkman's document under 
the title, " Relation du voyage entrepris par feu M. Robert Cavelier, 
sieur de La Salle, pour decouvrir dans le golfe du Mexique, Tembou- 
chure du fleuve de Missisipy. Par son frere, M. Cavelier " A Manate 
[N. Y.] 1858, 54 pp. i6mo, and printed a translation in his collection of 
" Early Voyages up and down the Mississippi," Albany, 1861.2 

1 Reprinted, Albany, 1903, edition of five hundred copies. 

2 Reprinted, Albany, 1902, five hundred copies. 



Discovery of the Mississippi. 231 

Margry gives in his Collection, vol. ii., pp. 501-509, a portion of a 
journal kept by Cavelier. Both these narratives from Cavalier's pen 
are very imperfect, the former failing for the latter part of the expedi- 
tion, and the journal stops before the landing in Texas. La Salle's 
assassination, which took place in 1687, was witnessed by Douay, who 
gives an account in his journal. Joutel relates the event from the 
testimony of eye-witnesses, and Tonty states what he learned from the 
survivors of La Salle's party. See also " Relation de la mort du Sr. de 
La Salle, suivant le rapport d'un nomme Couture a qui M. Cavelier 
I'apprit en passant aux Akansas," in Margry, vol. iii., pp. 601-606. 

A letter written by La Salle, March 4, 1685, erroneously dated at the 
mouth of the Mississippi, is in Margry, vol. ii., pp. 5S9~563, and a 
translation is appended to Shea's " Early Voyages." The " Proces ver- 
bal fait par La Salle avant de conduire son frere au Mississipi, 18. 
avril 1686," in Margry, vol. iii., pp. 535-549, relates La Salle's o^rations 
in Texas, including his first two journeys from the Texas coloi^ to find 
the Mississippi by land. 

The Spaniards, in 1689, visited the site of La Salle's colony, and 
made prisoners of the survivors whom they found among the Indians. 
Two of these captives escaped to France, and their testimony in regard 
to the fate of the colony is given in Margry, vol. iii., pp. 610-621. 

Parkman cites the official journal of this Spanish expedition, which is 
inedited. It is entitled " Derrotero de la Jornada que hizo el GeM^al 
Alonzo de Leon para el descubrimiento de la Bahia del Espiritti Santo, 
y problacion de Franceses." Buckingham Smith's " Colleccion de 
varios documentos para la historia de la Florida," pp. 25-28, contains 
a narrative by a member of the Spanish company, entitled '' Carta en 
que se da noticia de un viaje hecho a la Bahia de Espiritti Santo, y de 
la poblacion que tenian ah los Franceses," which is also inserted in 
French's " Historical Collections," second series, pp. 293—295. Barcia, 
in his " Ensayo chronologico para la historia general de la Florida," 
Madrid, 1723, gives an account, from an unknown source, which is 
translated in Shea's " Discovery of the Mississippi." 

This closes the list of principal contemporary narratives of the first 
explorations by the French of western territory. Margry's Collection 
contains many documents of minor interest, but important, which have 
not been noted. A journal by Minet, the engineer who returned to 
France with Beaujeau in 1686, in Margry, vol. 11, pp. 589-601, and 
Tonty's " Lettres sur ce qu'il a appris de La Salle, le voyage qu'il a 
fait pour Taller chercher," 1686-1689, in Margry, vol. iii., pp. 551-564, 
must, however, be mentioned. 

SECONDARY AUTHORITIES. 

Charlevoix's " Histoire et Description generale de la Nouvelle 
France," Paris, 1744, is the first historical work of value to treat of 



232 Discovery of the Mississippi. 

the early explorations. Charlevoix was familiar with the country 
traversed by Marquette and La Salle, having, in 1721, followed the 
latter's route to the Mississippi. Shea published at New York, in 
1866-67, an English translation of this work, and in the notes which 
he added, embodied the results of his extensive studies upon the early 
history of America, showing the latest knowledge possessed of the 
first travellers. 

In 1844 Sparks issued his "Life of La Salle," for the materials of 
which he depended upon the printed narratives of Hennepin, Joutel, 
Tonty, and the recitals in Le Clercq's " Premier fitablissement," etc., 
being unable to obtain any of the MSS. which are now accessible. 
Sparks' "Life of Marquette" appeared in 1845, and soon after Fal- 
coner's work " On the Discovery of the Mississippi," which contained 
translations of important MSS., was published at London. 

In 1853, Shea's valuable " Discovery and Exploration of the Miss- 
issippi " was brought out at New York.^ The contents of this work 
have been perhaps sufficiently indicated in the notices of contemporary 
journals, which are reproduced in it. In i860 Thomassy published 
" Geologic pratique de la Louisiane," in which he presented some 
important inedited documents. This writer contemplated writing a 
history of La Salle's exploits from the MSS. in the French archives, 
and, as a preliminary, issued in separate form the documents which he 
had collected, under the title, " De La Salle et ses relations inedites," 
Paris, i860. In 1869 Parkman published the first edition of his "Dis- 
covery of the Great West," forming the third volume of the series of 
historical narratives upon " France and England in North America." 
In the latest edition, published in 1879, the title was changed to " La 
Salle and the Discovery of the Great West." In the writing of the 
later edition the author had the use of additional documentary material, 
since printed by Margry, which caused a revision of some portion of 
the work. Gravier's " Decouvertes [etc.] de La Salle," Paris, 1870, 
and the supplementary monograph published by him in 1871, add little 
that is not in Parkman's work. The later publication corrects some 
errors and deficiencies in the first. Dr. Shea's contributions to the 
history of the first explorations of the West, beside his " Discovery 
of the Mississippi," New York, 1853, consist mainly of notes to the 
many important original narratives which he has edited, notably those 
of Hennepin, Le Clercq, and Charlevoix. 

The following works contain among the first travellers, accounts of 
the country traversed by Marquette, Hennepin, and La Salle : 

La Hontan, who travelled in 1689 and subsequent years, wrote 
" Nouveaux Voyages," Paris, 1703. This work passed through several 
editions. Although adventures related by La Hontan are in many 

'New edition, Albany, 1903. 



Discovery of the Mississippi. 233 

cases imaginarj', yet, says Parkman, he " had seen much, and portions 
of his story have a substantial value." J. Gravier, in 1700, went from 
the Illinois country to D'Iberville's colony in Louisiana. See " Relation 
de Voyage en 1700 depuis le Ilinois jusqu'a I'embouchure du Mississipi," 
New York, 1859 (Shea's Cramoisy Press). The "Relation de la 
Mississipi en 1700, par MM. de Montigny, De St. Cosme et Thaumur 
de la Source," New York, 1861 (Shea's Cramoisy Press), narrates the 
experiences of a party of the missionaries under the guidance of Tonty. 
An extract from Gravier is given in French's Historical Collections, sec- 
ond series, pp. 79-93. St. Cosme's and Gravier's narratives are also 
included in Shea's collection of " Early Voyages up and down the 
Mississippi," Albany, 1861, where also may be found Le Seuer's journal 
of a voyage from Louisiana to the Sioux country in 1699-1700. An 
extract from Le Seuer is given in La Harpe's "Journal Historique," 
Paris, 1831, and in French's Historical Collections, pt. 3. A journal 
by Penicaut, who accompanied Le Seuer, is included in his "Annals 
of Louisiana, from 1698 to 1722," in French's Historical Collections, 
new series, pp. 33-162, New York, 1869. The memoirs of D'Iberville's 
expedition to the Mississippi, in 1699-1700, contain descriptions of the 
lower Mississippi and throw light upon La Salle's movements in that 
region. The principal documents concerning D'Iberville's enterprises 
are printed in the fourth volume of Margry. A brief report by 
D'Iberville of his voyage on the Mississippi in 1699, is printed in 
French's Historical Collection, second series, pp. 19-31. An anonymous 
narrative entitled, " Historical Journal ; or, Narrative of the Expedi- 
tion under D'Iberville, to explore the Colbert (Mississippi) River, 
1698-59," is published in French's Historical Collection, second series, 
pp. 29-119. Both of these papers are included in Margry's collection, 
volume iv. Sauvole was a member of D'Iberville's company; see 
his " Journal Historique " in French's Historical Collections, pt. 3, 
pp. 223-240. 

Father Marest's letter on his mission at the Illinois, dated 1712, 
published in the " Lettres edifiantes," vol. ii., and reprinted in Kip's 
"Early Jesuit Missions," pp. 191-227, New York, 1846, describes the 
scenes of his labors. 

In 172 1, Charlevoix, the historian, made a journey from Canada 
across the lakes to the Illinois, and thence down the Mississippi to the 
Gulf of Mexico. He was requested by the King of France, to write 
an account of his travels. The descriptions of the country published in 
vol. iii. of his " Histoire et Description generale de la Nouvelle France," 
Paris, 1744, afford perhaps the best views of the primitive West which 
we have. 

The English editions of his travels are entitled "Journal of a 
Voyage to North America," London, 1761, and " Letters to the Duchess 
of Lesdiguieres," London, 1763. See also French's Historical CoUec- 



234 Discovery of the Mississippi. 

tion, pt. 3, pp. 1 19-196, where his journal is reprinted from the English 
editions. 

On reaching the subject of Maps, we find that Harrisse's Notes sur- 
la Nouvelle France contains a section upon the " Cartographie de la 
Nouvelle France, depuis la decouverte jusqu'en 1700," which affords 
an extensive list of published and inedited maps. 

Parkman gives a descriptive account of " Early unpublished maps 
of the Mississippi and the great lakes," in the appendix to his "Dis- 
covery of the Great West." Thomassy's Geol. pr. de la Louisiane," has 
an appendix upon the " Cartographie de la ancienne Louisiane, I544~ 
1858." Baldwin's " Early maps of Ohio and the West," Cleveland, 
1875, and Feet's article, " The discovery of the Ohio, Early maps," in 
Amer. Antiquarian, vol. i., pp. 21-35, Cleveland, 1878, are useful studies 
of some early maps in the possession of Western historical societies. 
Hurlbut's " Chicago Antiquities," Chicago, 1881, contains a chapter 
upon the first maps representing that place. 

The following printed works contain some of the more important 
edited maps, bearing date in the original previous to 1700: Champlain's 
"Voyages," Paris, 1632, is accompanied by a map upon which Lake 
Superior is shown, and a " grande riviere qui vient du midy " is repre- 
sented as flowing into the lake from the south. This map, which is 
reproduced in the later editions of Champlain, is of little value, in a 
geographical sense for the western country. A map of " Nouvelle 
France," showing the great lakes, is in Sanson d' Abbeville's " L'Amer- 
ique en plusieurs cartes," Paris, 1656. Du Creux's " Historia Cana- 
densis," Parisiis, 1664, contains a map dated 1660, which shows the 
outlines of the great lakes. Bressani's " Relation abregee de quelques 
missions dans la Nouvelle France," Montreal, 1852, contains a repro- 
duction. DoUier and Gallinee's map of 1670, showing their course 
in travelling to Ste. Marie, is reproduced in Faillon's Historic de la 
col. fr., vol. iii., p. 305 (see Parkman's La Salle, p. 449, for descrip- 
tion) ; Claude Dablon's " Relation de la Nouvelle France, 1670-1671," 
Paris, 1672, contains a map made about 1670 (see Parkman, p. 450) ; a 
reproduction is published in Foster and Whitney's " Report on the 
Geology of Lake Superior," Washington, 1850; Marquette's map of 
1674 accompanies the various editions of his narrative. The map in 
Thevenot's " Recueil " is by Liebaux, and not by Marquette. Gravier's 
" Etude sur une carte inconnue " contains a facsimile of a map by 
Joliet, probably in 1674. This map is the first published map showing 
the great lakes in connection with the Mississippi. 

Shea's edition of Dablon's " Relation de la Nouvelle France, 1673 a 
1679," New York, i860, has a reproduction of a map made by the 
Jesuits in 1673, showing the missions upon Lake Michigan. Henne- 
pin's " Description de la Louisiane," Paris, 1683, contains a map made 
upon data by Hennepin. The later editions of this work are also 



Discovery of the Mississippi. 235 

accompanied by a map. Parkman gives a reproduction of the portion 
of Franqulin's famous map, which shows La Salle's colony on the 
Illinois, and that portion showing the lower part of the Mississippi 
is reproduced in Thomassy's " Geologic de la Louisiane." A map made 
by Minet, the engineer of La Salle's last expedition, which gives two 
separate views of the mouth of the Mississippi, is given in a reduced 
•size in Gravier's " La Salle," and in Thomassy's " Geologic de la 
Louisiane." Le Clercq's " Premier etablissement de la foy," Paris, 1691 ; 
Hennepin's " Nouvelle decouverte," and " Nouveau Voyage ;" La Hon- 
tan's " Nouveaux Voyages dans I'Amerique," La Haye, 1703; Coxe's 
" Description of Carolana," London, 1742, and Charlevoix's " Histoire 
de la Nouvelle France," Paris, 1744, are accompanied by maps made 
nearly contemporaneously with the publication of the works in ques- 
tion. A facsimile De Lisle's map of 1700, which indicates the course 
of the early explorers, is in Gravier's " La Salle " and in French's 
Collections, pt. 2. A map by Joutel, dated 1713, accompanies the 
printed editions of his journal. Margry's " Decouvertes et etabhsse- 
ments des Frangais," when completed, will include a volume devoted 
to maps now inedited. The third volume of this collection contains an 
outline sketch, representing La Salle's discoveries. A modern map, 
representing countries traversed by Marquette, Hennepin, and La Salle, 
is given in Parkman's " La Salle." 

We next give a list of publications which treat of the explorations 
of the Mississippi valley, arranged in chronological order. Works which 
have been cited under different headings of this article are, in most 
cases, not included in this enumeration. 

La Hontan, " Nouveaux voyages dans I'Amerique Septentrionale," 
Paris, 1703. This work passed through several editions. Bacqueville 
de la Potherie, " Histoire de I'Amerique Septentrionale," Paris, 1722. 
Editions were also published in 1723 and 1753. Has some account of 
La Salle's travels in 1682. Barcia, " Ensayo cronologico para la His- 
toria General de Florida," Madrid, 1723. The author relied upon the 
rnemoirs of Marquette, Joutel, and Tonty for the portion of his work 
relating to the French explorations. Lafitau, " Moeurs des Sauvages 
Ameriquains," Paris, 1724. Coxe, " Description of the English province 
of Carolana, by the Spaniards called Florida ; by the French, La Louis- 
iane," London, 1742. The author disparages the French discoveries, 
and urges the English right to the country. Dumont, " Memoire sur 
la Louisiane, contenant ce qui y est arrive de plus remarquable depuis 
1687 jusqu'a present," Paris, 1753, 2 vols. Bellin, " Remarques sur 
la carte de I'Amerique Septentrionale, comprise entre le 28e et le 72e 
degre de latitude," Paris, 1755, gives some account of La Salle's 
establishments. Le Page du Pratz, " Histoire de la Louisiane," Paris, 
1758, 3 vols. ; English translations were published in 1763 and 1774. 
Gayarre " Essai historique sur la Louisiane," Nouvelle Orleans, 1830, 



236 Discovery of the Mississippi. 

2 vols. ; La Harpe, " Journal historique de retablissement des Franqais 
a la Louisiane," Paris, 1831. This work is reproduced in French's His- 
torical Collections, vol. iii. Conover, " Oration on the History of the 
First Discovery and Settlement of the New World, with especial refer- 
ence to the Mississippi Valley," Cincinnati, 1835. Perkins, "Early 
French Travellers in the West," in North American Review, vol. xlviii., 
pp. 63-108. A review of Spark's " La Salle " and " Marquette." Colt, 
" The Devil's Hole, with an account of a visit made to it by La Salle," 
Lockport, N. Y., 44 pp., the third edition appeared in 1851. Gayarre, 
"Histoire de la Louisiane," Nouvelle Orleans, 1846-47. Guerin, "Les 
navigateurs Frangais," Paris, 1846. Bradford, " Notes on the North- 
west," New York, 1846. Kip, " Early Jesuit Missions in North Amer- 
ica," New York, 1846, contains letters by missionaries giving descrip- 
tions of the newly discovered country. Monette, " History of the Dis- 
covery and Settlement of the Mississippi," New York, 1846. Gayarre, 
" Romance of the History of Louisiana," New York, 1848. Foster and 
Whitney, " Report on the Geology and Topography of a Portion of the 
Lake Superior Land District," Washington, 1850-51, 2 vols., contains 
an account of the first Jesuit missions on Lake Superior. Gayarre, 
"Louisiana: its Colonial History," New York, 1851, and "Louisiana 
and its History as a French Colony," New York, 1852. Hart, " History 
of the Discovery of the Valley of the Mississippi," St. Louis, 1852; 
" History of the Valley of the Mississippi," New York, 1853. Gayarre, 
" History of Louisiana," New York, 1854. W. R. Smith, " History of 
Wisconsin," Madison, 1854; only volumes one and three were pub- 
lished of this valuable work; volume three contains translations of 
the Jesuit relations, which describe the operations of the Jesuits in 
Wisconsin territory. Shea, " History of the Catholic Missions among 
the Indian Tribes of the United States, 1529-1854," New York, 1855. 
E. D. Neill, " Materials for the future History of Minnesota," St. Paul, 
1856, also in the "Annals of Minnesota," 1856, and reprinted in Minne- 
sota Historical Society Collection, vol. i. Law, " Jesuit Missions in the 
Northwest," in the Wisconsin Historical Society Collections, vol. iii., 
pp. 89-1 1 1, 118-121, Madison, 1857. The author of this article makes 
the erroneous statement that missionaries had reached the Mississippi 
several years before Marquette's visit. Shea disproves this in an 
article entitled "Justice to Marquette," in pp. 111-117 of the same 
volume of the Wisconsin collections. Shea, " Indian Tribes of Wis- 
consin," in the Wisconsin Historical Society Collections, vol. iii., 
pp. 125-128. Ferland, " Cours d'Histoire du Canada, 1534-1759," Que- 
bec, 1859. This author is highly esteemed as an historical writer. Shea, 
" Early Voyages Up and Down the Mississippi," Albany, 1861. Ferland, 
" Notes sur les registres de Notre Dame de Quebec," Quebec, 1863. 
Neill, " Early French Forts and Footprints in the Valley of the Upper 
Mississippi," in Minnesota Historical Society Collections, 1864, pp. 9-20. 



Discovery of tJic Mississippi. 237 

Faillon, " Histoire de la Colonic fran(;aise en Canada," Villemarie 
[Montreal], 1865, 3 vols.; this work comes down only to 1671, but 
is of value for period covered. 

French, " Biographical Sketch of La Salle," in Historical Collec- 
tions of Louisiana, new series, pp. 4-7, New York, 1869. Gallaud, 
" Mississippi : a Brief History of its Discovery," in "Annals of Iowa," 
vol. vii., pp. 194-201, Davenport, 1869. Van Fleet, " Old and New 
Mackinac; with copious extracts from Marquette, Hennepin, La Hon- 
tan, and others," Ann Arbor, 1870; Brodhead, " History of New York," 
New York, 187 1 ; the author gives briefly the latest knowledge upon the 
first explorations. The Revue Maritime et Coloniale, Paris, 1872, con- 
tains controversial articles by Harrisse and Margry, both with the 
title " Histoire critique de la decouverte du Mississippi." Harrisse, 
" Notes pour servir a I'Histoire [etc.] de la Nouvelle France, 1545-72," 
Paris, 1872. In addition to the bibliographical matter in this work 
there is a brief historical summary of the early explorations. Neill, 
" French Voyageurs to Minnesota," in the Annals of Minnesota, 1850, 
pp. 10-28, reprinted in Minnesota Historical Society Collections, vol. i., 
PP- I7~36. Durrie, " Early Outposts of Wisconsin," Madison, 1873, 
contains notices of the visits of Perrot, j^lloiiez, Marquette, and others. 
" Laval universite, Quebec, 200e anniversaire de la decouverte du Miss- 
issipi par Joliet et le P. Marquette, Soiree litteraire et musicale, 17 
Juin, 1873," Quebec, 1873, 54 pp., contains a discourse by the Abbe 
Verreau. Parry, " Historical Address on the Early Exploration of the 
Mississippi Valley," Davenport, Iowa, 1873, 36 pp. Salter, "Address 
commemorative of the 200th Anniversary of the Discovery of Iowa 
by Marquette and Joliet," in the "Annals of Iowa," vol. ii., pp. S01-515. 
Shea, "Address on Discovery of the Mississippi, read on the bi-cen- 
tennial of said Discovery, June 17, 1873," published in Wisconsin His- 
torical Society Collections, vol. vii., pp. 111-122. Marshall, "The First 
Visit of La Salle to the Senecas in 1669," Buffalo, 1874, 45 pp. Bald- 
win, " Early maps of Ohio and the West," Cleveland, 1875, 25 pp. ; 
this forms one of the Western Reserve Historical Society tracts. French, 
" Biographical Sketch of L. Joliet," in his Historical Collections, second 
series, pp. 139, 140. 

" Memoir sent by the King to M. Denonville, explanatory of the 
French Possessions in North America," in French's Historical Col- 
lections, second series, pp. 123-142. This document briefly recapitu- 
lates the French discoveries. Baldwin, " Margry Papers, vol. ii.," in 
Western Reserve Historical Society tracts. United States Annual 
Report of the Chief of Engineers, Washington, 1876. Volume iii. of 
this report contains an extract from Marquette's journal, and a re- 
duced reproduction of his map. Gravier, " La route du Mississipi," in 
the compte-rendu of the second session of the Congres des Ameri- 



238 Discovery of the Mississippi. 

canistes, 1877, vol. i., pp. 237-312. Whittlesey, "Discovery of the 
Ohio River by La Salle," 1669-70, one of the Western Reserve His- 
torical Society tracts. 

Hurlbut, " Father Marquette at Mackinaw and Chicago," Chicago, 
1878. Jacker, " La Salle and the Jesuits," in American Catholic Quar- 
terly Review, vol. iii., pp. 404-426, Philadelphia, 1878. Peet, " Discov- 
ery of the Ohio," in American Antiquarian, vol. i., pp. 21-35. Shea, 
"Address before the Missouri Historical Society at the celebration of 
the 250th anniversary of Marquette's Voyage, July 20, 1878; same. 
Romance and Reality of the Death of Marquette, and the recent 
Discovery of his Remains," in Catholic World, vol. ii., pp. 267-281. 

C. C. Baldwin, " Indian Migration in Ohio," Western Reserve His- 
torical Society tract No. 47; also in American Antiquarian, April, 1879. 
M. F. Force, " Some Early Notices of the Indians of Ohio," Cincin- 
nati, 1879. Margry, " Was La Salle the Discoverer of the Mississippi," 
in American Antiquarian, vol. ii., pp. 206-209, Chicago, 1879-81. O. H. 
Marshall, " Building and Voyage of the Griffon in 1679," Buffalo, 1879. 
Blanchard, " Discovery and Conquests of the Northwest," Chicago, 
1880; gives a brief account of Joliet's and La Salle's voyages. 

Brucker, " J. Marquette*'^'W^Mfiecouverte de la vallee du Mississipi," 
Lyon, 1880. Thoulet " Cavelier de La Salle et la decouverte du Miss- 
issipi, d'apres I'ouvrage de M. Margry," in Bulletin de la Societe de 
la Geographic, 6e serie, tome xx., pp. 435-454, 534~S56, Paris, 1880. 
Hurlbut's " Chicago Antiquities," Chicago, 1881, contains translations 
from the journals of Marquette, Hennepin, La Salle, and of other 
travellers, which relate the incidents of visits made to the site of the 
present city. Neill, " Minnesota Explorers and Pioneers from 1659 
to 1858," Minneapolis, 1881. J. Fiske, " Romance of the Spanish and 
French Explorers," in Harper's Magazine, February, 1882. An article 
by the editor in The Magazine of American History, March, 1882. 
Gravier's " Sketch of La Salle," in same magazine. May, 1882. Hurl- 
but, " Review of Gravier's Article," in same for September, 1882. 
Butler, " First French Foot-prints beyond the Lakes " [Madison, 1882], 
closes the list of the writings up to the present time. It has not been 
thought necessary to include general histories of the United States, 
such as Bancroft's and Hildreth's, and others. 

Bibliography. — The principal bibliographical works used in the com- 
pilation of this note are Boimare's " Notes bibliographiques et rai- 
sonnes sur les principaux ouvrages publies sur la Floride et I'ancienne 
Louisiane " [Paris, 1855]; Faribault's "Catalogue d'ouvrages sur I'his- 
toire de I'Amerique," Quebec, 1837 ; " Field's Essay toward an Indian 
Bibliography," New York, 1875, and Harrisse's " Notes pour servir a 
r historic, la bibliographic [etc.] de la Nouvelle France," Paris, 1872. 



Discoz'ery of the Mississippi. 239 

O'Callaghan's " Jesuit Relations of Discoveries in Canada, 1632-1672," 
New York, 1847, has been used for the titles of the Jesuit reports. 

The references in Parkman's " La Salle " have indicated many au- 
thorities, and the author's characterizations have been helpful. Gravier's 
" La Salle," Paris, 1871, contains a list of eighty-nine articles upon 
La Salle. The compiler of this article was unable to examine a copy 
until after completion of the list. The essential works in it were 
found to have been noted. Sabin's "Bibliography" is indispensable in 
verifying titles. APPLETON P. C. GRIFFIN 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

A fine river 79 

Accancea Indians 176, 179, 182 

Household Stuff 179 

Shape 179 

Particular Ceremonies 182 

Country, Product of 178 

Account of Country 'jj 

given by a native 128 

Ahehoen Indians 126 

Ahonerhopiheim Indians 126 

Aigron, Sieur 55 

Algonquin Indians 3, 38 

Alleghany, Valley of the 4 

Alleghanies 23 

Alligator eaten 62 

Allouez, Father 13, 22, 197 

America 2 

North 6 

American Savages 38 

Anastasius, Father 48, 62, 109, 112, 116, 134, 135, 

136, 137, 151. 154, 155. 156, 160, 161, 167, 168, 189, 

190, 197, 199, 201, 203 

Apalache, Bay of 6^, 68 

Arhan Indians 126 

Arkansas Country 203 

Indians 202 

River 3, 22, 202 

Arrival at Quebec 201 

Art to kill goats and wild fowl 164 

Assony Indians 130, 139, 162, 163, 167 

16 [241] 



242 Index. 

PAGE. 

Author meets another Frenchman among Indians 149 

and others resolve to part from murderers 152 

saved by a friend 136 

sent to the Cenis for provisions 138 

Ayona Indians 127 

Barbier, Sieur 79, 84, 108, 109, 114, 129 

Command of Settlement given to 116 

Marries 112 

Barbier's wife gives birth to child 115 

Beaujeu, Commander 26, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 61, 

63, 64, 66, 67, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 83, 86 

leaves La Salle 89 

Begon, Intendant 60, 61 

Bihoral, Sieur 114, 130 

Boat of Bark lost. 98 

Bocrettes Indians 127 

Boisrondet, Sieur 189, 190, 197 

Buskins of rawhides instead of shoes 120 

Cacahonanous Indians 190 

Caddoes Indians 202 

Cadodaquio Village . 169 

Cahamihona Village 169, 170 

Cahoynohoua Indians 173,, 174 

California, Gulf of 3, 4 

Calumet, The 172, 173, 179 

Canada i, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 11, 13, 18, 21, 23, 24, 

26, 34, 38, 41, 42, 44, 45, 48, 49, 108, 115, 151, 177, 

'1 90, 196, 202 

Natives of, Brutal 37 

Canohatino Indians 127 

Cannohantimo Indians 141, 157 

Cape Corrientes 63 

St. Anthony 61, 63, 64, 65 

St. Nicholas 59 

Samana 59 

Cappas Indians 161, 164, 166, 169, 174, 182 



Index. 243 

PAGE. 

Capucians 170 

Carpenter lost 96 

Cascasquina Peroneria Indians , .. 190 

Caveliers, The 2 

Cavelier Family 29 

Cavelier, Jean 2 

Henri 2, 27 

Robert ( See La Salle) 2 

Abbe 26, 29, 48, 49, 62, 90, 95, 97, 98, 107, 

109, 116, 123, 136, 137, 151, 152, 154, 156, 161, 164, 
166, 167, 168, 172, 177, 179, 180, 183, 189, 190, 

196, 197, 199, 200, 201, 202 

Abbe and his company part from others 160 

Abbe and others carried on backs of Indians; Cere- 
monies at their reception ; Speeches made to them ; 

Their entertainment 165, 166 

set out and return again 191 

Cayman Island 62 

Cenis Indians 48, 113, 121, 123, 127, 128, 130, 

139. 152, 153. 156, 162, 168, 169, 179 

Account of Battle fought by 157 

Covintry of 1 14 

Described 138 

Meet French in Solemn Manner 140 

River 137 

Ceremony of Pipe 171, 179 

Performed to M. Cavelier 179 

of Sailors Called " Ducking " 57 

Chahouanous Indians 196 

Champlain i, 22 

Chanzes Indians 127 

Charleroix 30 

Charpantier, Sieur 176 

Chautauqua Lake 4 

Chebonany 200 

Chedeville, M 54, 62, go, loi, 109, no, in, 112, 114 



244 Index. 

PAGE. 

Chef de Bois, Port of 59 

Chicago 21, 196, 197, 198 

Chickasaw Indians 203 

Choumans Indians 128, 129 

Choumenes Indians 126 

Clerk, Sieur 114 

Colbert, French Minister of State 8 

River , 49, 177, 181, 200 

Columbus, Christopher 33 

Commanders at variance 74 

Conspiracy discovered 93 

revealed 94 

Controversy about privilege of first born 115 

Copal tree 138 

Couture, Sieur 176, 179, 180, 181', 182, 183 

Courcelle, Governor 3, 43 

Coyabegux Indians 126 

Crevecoeur, Fort 17, 18, 19, 20 

Cross by a river and a French built house 176 

Crozat 211, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219 

to plant colonies in Louisiana 205 

letters patent to 212 

Cuba 61, 62, 63, 209 

Currents 67 

Dablon, Father 13, 22 

Dainmaville 54, 88 

Dautray 22 

d' Aire, Chevalier 66, 67, 74, 76, yy, 80, 88 

d' Eure River 125 

D'Iberville 203 

Expedition 205 

De Baugis 20 

de Belle Fontaine 189 

de Cussy, Governor 59, 60, 6r 

de Launay, Sieur 176 

de Leon, Alonzo 203 



Index. 245 

PAGE. 

de la Sabloniiiere 81, 109, 112 

De Luna 22 

de Malre, Sieiir 132, 133, 161 

drowned 166 

funeral 167 

De Nonville, Marquis 195, 196, 197, 200, 201 

de Porneuf, M 200 

De Soto 22 

de Villeperdry, Sieur 93, 95 

Debates between commanders 88 

Departure from Rochel 54 

Desloges 86 

killed 87 

des Puans Lake 200 

Detroit River 5 

Straits of 12 

Devault, Sieur 94 

Difference between commanders 56 

Discontent occasioned by Moranget 133 

Douay, Father .,.:. ..... 26, 29, 136 

account of murder 134 

Duchesneau, Intendant 19 

du Hamel 76, 86, 87 

Duhaut 99, 102, 103, 107, 108, 114, 115, 116, 

132, 133, 135. 152 

endeavors to occasion a mutiny , 112 

mutiny revealed 113 

returns from La Salle 100 

the murderer usurps command 137 

killed 154 

Duromtage 195 

Du Shut 195 

Dutch and English at Albany 12 

East Indies 37 

Encounter with natives iii 

Enepiahe Indians 126 



246 Index. 

PACK. 

English 6 

Entertainment given by the Indians 183 

Erie, Lake 4, 12, 18 

Esperitu Bay 97 

Fercoutcha Indians 127 

Figure of a pretended monster 186 

Fine meadows 164 

Finisterre Cape 55 

First landing 67 

First fort abandoned 94 

Fish taken in plenty 91 

Fiske, John i 

Flying fish 56 

Fort built 88 

Lewis 197, 200 

among the Illinois 188 

arrival at 188 

reception 189 

description of country 191 

lime and clay, mines, product, etc 192 

St. Lewis of Illinois 203 

Louis in Texas 203 

France i, 2, 5, 6 

King of 6 

French habitation, travellers come to the 176 

men, who they were 177 

house among the Acconceas described 178 

entertained by natives 147 

turned savage 149 

man among Indians 141' 

men go to the wars with natives 156 

stay A^ith Indians 161 

River 200 

Frontenac, Count 5, 6, 8, 12, 19, 24, 43 

Fort 8, 1 1, 12, 18, 19, 24, 26, 42 

Cabaret, Sieur 74 



Index. 247 

FAGB. 

Galveston Bay 103 

Game, Plenty of 171 

Garay 22 

Gayen ; hurt 86, 87 

Goats and bullocks 72 

Good entertainment 163 

Green Bay 12, 13, 21 

Griffin, The 12, 13, 14, 18 

Grollet, 149, 150 

Guanabo Island 59 

Guinea 206 

Habitation of St. Lewis 103, 151, 153 

description of country at 103 

the land 103 

living creatures: Fish, tortoises, venomous creatures, 

rattle-snakes 104 

Alligators, trees, dangerous fruit. 105 

vines, plants 106 

of St. Lewis. Who were left there when La Salle 

departed 116 

Hard labor 95 

Havana 206, 209, 210, 211 

Hebahano Indian Village 121 

Heins 116, 132, 133, 134, 138, 155, 156, 161 

kills Duhaut 154 

gives others what he pleases and seizes rest of effects. 160 

Hennepin i, 11, 15, 16, 18, 44, 47, 48, 49, 203, 204 

Hispaniola Island 58, 59, 61, 63 

Holy Ghost, Bay of 50, 68, 69 

Horse sold for an ax 148 

Houabache River 184 

How the travellers lived 195 

Hudson's Bay 205 

Hunter dies with cold 100 

Hurie, (Sieur) 94, 99, m, "3 

Hurons 38, 199, 200 



248 Index. 

PAGE. 

Huron, Lake 5, 12 

Illinois allies 24 

country 20. 196 

Indians 13, 14, 21, 38, 49, 114, 115, 177, 

183, 188, 196 

adulter},^ 195 

boasting 193 

chiefs 16 

children 193 

care of dead 193 

presents to 195 

game of stick 195 

great town of 15 

manners and customs 193 

marriages 195 

meeting with 187 

outbreak 16 

thieving 193 

women do all labor 193 

lake of the 200 

river 5. 15, 18, 19. 20. 27^. 24, 44, 187, 214 

headwaters of 22 

State of 17 

Indescretion of an ensign 86 

Indian, bad ways 163 

beds 142 

bewailing memory of men killed 156 

ceremonies 145 

ceremon}^ to the dead 167 

of dressing a bullock 185 

of rejoicing 159 

come to fort 92 

cruel trophies of 158 

dies of eating raw suet 187 

doleful entertainment 168 

entertainment 141 



Index. 249 

Indian — Continued. page. 

expect presents 174 

humanity of the 167 

huts and famihes in them 142 

inhumanity 158 

maid brought to author 150 

manners I44 

manner of building 142 

their moveables 142 

men 170 

barbarity of towards a woman taken 157 

nations 167 

peculiar custom 169 

rats 124 

religion I45 

tillage 142 

tilling, instrument for 143 

tobacco 146 

take revenge 87 

women 143 

barbarity of 158 

their behavior 144 

disfigure themselves 143 

do all the work 144, 193 

habits 144 

ornaments of 169 

sow 143 

strong 38 

rejoice at victory 157 

with axes 175 

village abandoned 120 

inhabited 123 

Irondequoit (Seneca village) 4 

Iroquois 3, 8, 12, 13, 16, 20, 21, 22,, 38, 49, 

185, 188, 190, 198, 199 

invasion 16 

war with 195 



250 Index. 

PAGE. 

Janiquo Indians 168 

Jesuits 2, 5, 7, 12, 16, 22, 199, 200 

mission among Hurons re-established by Marquette . . 19 

Jogues 22 

Joliet I, 4, 5> 22 

Joutel, Henri 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 48, 50, 89 

believes Mississippi passed 68 

party 108 

Journey prosequted 174 

continued 181 

Joly (The) 26, 54, 58, 64, 66, 67, 68, 74, 75, 79, 80, 89 

boltsprit of lost 55 

Kabayes Indians 126 

Kannehonau Indians 126 

Kavagan Indians 126 

Keremen Indians 126 

Ketch taken by the Spaniards 61 

Kiahoba Indians 126 

Kiasses Indians 127 

Kind Indians 177 

reception 171 

Korenkake Indians 126 

Korkone Indians 126 

Kouans Indians 126 

r Aimable (ship) 61, 62, 65, 79, 80, 81, 85, 88, 89 

cast astray 83 

1 Archeveque 116, 133, 134, 136, 153, 155, 161 

La Barre, Governor 24, 25, 26 

La Belle (ship) 65, 66, 67, 69, 70, 78, 79, 80, 83 

85, 86, 94, 96, 97, 98, loi, 115 

lost 108 

how lost 1 10 

what was saved from 109 

La Chine ( China) 2, 3, 201 

Le Clerc, Father 26, 203 

La Forest (Surgeon) 10, 19, 20, 26, 203 



Index. 251 

PAGE. 

La Hontan's forged discourse with a savage, wherein he 

renders himself rediculous 36 

La Motte de Sussiere 10, 1 1 

La Maligne River 102, 124, 126, 147 

la Sabloniere River 122 

La Salle i, 3. 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 

19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 
41, 44, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 55, 56, 
57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 66, 68, 70, 
71, 72, 73, 74, 75. 76, 77, 78, 79, 81, 
82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 92, 94, 96. 
97, 98, lor, 103, no. Ill, 115, 117, 
118, 121, 122, 123, 124, 127, 128, 
129, 130, 131, 137, 148, 149, i5i» 
152, 154, 156, 160, 176, 177, 178, 

179, 180, 187, 188, 190, 197, 201, 202 

account of • 41 

barbarity towards body of 135 

character 42, 135 

conspiracy to murder 133 

consult to murder 133 

death of 5> 29 

is murdered 134 

first voyage of exploration 3 

return to France 8 

footman killed i'33 

fort taken by Spaniards 204 

goes to discover the river 90 

returns ; sets out again 9° 

goes out to discover 99 

returns 107 

goes to seek conspirators 134 

Indian killed 132 

made proprietor of Ft. Frontenac 43 

men 17 

mistake 69 



252 Index. 

La Salle — Continued. page. 

much wronged 89 

patent of nobility 8 

resolves on third expedition 114 

persons with him 116 

the way they traveled 117 

Royal patent to explore Mississippi country 10 

reputation makes enemies 43 

second return visit to France 10 

voyage of exploration ( 1678-9) 11 

sets out on another expedition 108 

discoveries ; return 113 

seven men lost and four desert 1 14 

third return visit to France 25 

well received by natives 126 

Le Gros 61 

bitten by snake 9^ 

and others die 97 

Liotot 116, 132, 134, 138, 153 

killed 154 

Lisbon 55 

Lost Frenchmen heard of 130 

Louis XIV 23 

Louisiana 2^, 33, 47, 203, 204, 206, 211, 212 

214, 217, 218 

Louisville 4 

Machigamea Indians 184 

Madera Island 55, 56 

Magdalen River 75 

Maghai Indians 126 

Man clad like Spaniard 139 

March continued 137 

Mark, Friar 22 

Marquette 1,3, 19, 22, 186 

Massiot 54 

Matagordu Bay 89, 97 



Index. 253 

FACE. 

Maximus, Father 112 

Meinbre, Father 26 

Men sent by land to discover 78 

Meracouman Indians 126 

Mexico 10, 25, 207 

Bay of 45, 49, 50, 63, 177, 191 

City 208 

Gulf of 4, 22, 23, 25, 44, 47, 197, 206 

Kingdom of 42, 139 

North 129 

Miami, Fort 15 

River 14, 21, 22 

Michilimackinac 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 190, 196, 199 

Michigan, Lake 5, 12, 13, 14, 21 

Mines of St. Barbara 42 

Minet, Sieur 76, 88 

Mississippi River i, 3, 4, 5, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25, 

27, 33, 42, 43, 45, 49, 5°, 69, 
77, 82, 89, 97, 98, 102, 108, 114, 
148, 149, 152, 153, 164, 174, 
176, 177, 182, 184, 187, 203, 205 

River, Banks of many colors 185 

Branches of 88 

Mississippi found at last 181 

mouth of 21 

passed 75 

source of 44, 204 

Indians 16 

Valley 26 

Missouri River 22, 186, 213 

Mitchell, Sieur 47 

Montreal 2, 4, 8, 9, 18, 41, 42, 49, 196, 

199, 200, 201 

Moranget 54, 78, 86, 87, 88, 92, 93, 98, 102, 107, 

108, 113, 116, 128, 129, 130, 132, 134, 135, 155 
Discontent occasioned by 133 



254 Index. 

PAGE. 

More mischief prevented * 155 

Murderers change their mind 153 

differ in opinion 153 

design of 152 

resolve to return to habitation of St. Lewis 151 

return to camp 151 

Nahordikhes Indians 162 

Nations, Names 126, 146 

Nation, What is meant here by it 146 

Natives entertained 118 

New England 21, 151 

New France 8, 196, 215, 216 

New Mexico 140 

New Spain 122 

Niagara River 11, 12, 13, 18, 19 

Nicolet, I 

Nipicingue Lake 201 

Odd Salutation 85 

Ohio Project 4 

River 3> 4, 5» 22 

Omeaosse Indians 126 

Onapien Indians 126 

Outahoutacs Indians 199 

Ontario Lake 4, 8, 19, 42 

Onondaga 8 

Orcampion Indians 127 

Oris killed 87 

Ory 54 

Otenmarhem Indians 126 

Paget 56 

Parkman 2, 10, 11, 12, 18, 21, 26, 28, 29, 89 

Palaquechaune Indians 128 

Panego Indians 127 

Pehir Indians 126 

Peihoum Indians 127 

Peisacho Indians 127 



Index. 255 

PAGE. 

Peoria Lake 15 

Persons that went 54 

Petao Indians 127 

Petit Guave 59, 60, 61, 63 

Petzares Indians .' 127 

Pichar Indians 127 

Pines, Island of 62, 63, 64 

Plenty of game 171 

Planteroze (M.) 54, loi, no 

Portable Canoe 125 

Port de Paix 59, 60, 61 

Poatouanni Indians 199 

Pottawatomies 4, 21 

Presents 171 

Primitehouy Lake 187 

Princess's River 117, 119 

Provisions hid spoilt 132 

Ptolomy 22 

Quebec 11, 41, 42, 44 

Quintonan River 198 

Recollet Friars 8, 9, 26, 90, 99, 204 

Accidents concerning 112 

Red River 202 

Richelieu ( Cardinal) 2 

Rio Grande River 23, 202 

River aux Boeufs 103 

of Bullocks 97 

of Canoes 132 

Rochelle 26, 202 

return to 55 

Rocky Mountains 23 

Rouen 2, 27, 29, 202 

Ruter 149, 150 

Kills Liotot 154 

Santo Domingo 25, 56 



256 Index. 

PAGE. 

Salt found in pools 92 

water spring 186 

Sault Ste. Marie 13 

Savages, A company of 80 

come to the boat 7° 

carryed aboard — . 71 

return ashore with gifts 71 

friendly behaviour 81 

their camp 81 

their entertainment 82 

Second Landing 73 

settlement 93, 96 

ill posture of 95 

Seigneley, Marquis de 10, 25 

Senecas 3, 195 

Village (Irondequoit) 4 

Seven set out for Canada 161 

Shea, Dr. John Gilmary 22 

Ships 54 

Six men killed by natives loi 

Somberero Island 58 

South Sea 42 

Spain 25 

Spaniards 25, 56, 127, 129, 150, 210 

Spanish 6 

Incursions 26 

Vessel appears 91 

Spichets Indians 126 

St. Bernard's Bay 97 

St. Barbara, Mines of 42 

St. Cosmo 203 

St. Jerome River 213 

St. Joseph River 14, i5) 19 

Fort 20 

Bay 89 



Index. 257 

PAGE. 

St. Lewis (or Louis) Bay 97, 99, 103, 117 

Fort 24, 25, 26, 28 

(of Texas) 97 

St. Lewis River 206, 213 

St, Laurent, Marquis de 60, 61 

St. Lawrence River 19, 41, 49, 202 

St. Marys Fall 200 

St. Philip River 213 

" Starved Rock " 15, 18, 24 

Stores they had 98 

Strange adventure 102 

Sulpitians 2, 3, 4, 5, 26 

Superior, Lake 4, 12 

Sweet water from a tree 198 

Talon (Intendant) 3, 4, 5> 6, 8, 43 

Teao Indians 127 

Teisseers 138, 160, 161, 188, 201 

Tessalon, Village of 200 

Texas 108 

Theauremets Indians 126 

Thecamenes Indians 126 

Thibault, Sieur 54, 99 

Thick woods 119 

Third landing 76 

Tonti, Hendri de 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 

22, 23, 24, 25, 47, 48, 49, 176, 
177, 188, 190, 196, 197, 202, 203 

comes to Fort Lewis 195 

's mistake in account of voyage 64 

Tohaka Indians 126 

Tohan Indians 127 

Tonningua, Village 182 

Toriman officers 181 

Village 181 

Tortuga Island 59 

Trade Wind 57 

17 



258 Index. 

PAGE. 

Travel continued 197 

Tsepehoen Indians 127 

Tsera Indians 127 

Two men killed 115 

West Indies 210 

Wild fowl 120 

fruit 186 

swine 63 

Veracruz 206, 207, 209, 211 

Vermilion Sea 3 

Vespucius, Americus 23 

Zenobius, Father 62, 117, 152, 203 



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